Reports and papers

Analyses on specific aspects related to press and media freedom, performed and published by research centres, non-governmental organizations and public bodies

Demonising the media: Threats to journalists in Europe

The report surveys over 3,000 media freedom incidents documented by Index on Censorship’s “Mapping Media Freedom” (MMF) project since May 2014 with a view to outlining key trends and categories

read more EU Member States Turkey Freedom of expression Censorship Safety of journalists

Targeting the Messenger: Journalists on the Frontline of Protests

The latest report by Index on Censorship's Mapping Media Freedom (MMF) project provides an insight into the threats that European journalists face when covering demonstrations

read more France Poland Romania Germany Spain Safety of journalists

Hacks, leaks and disruptions – Russian cyber strategies

This edition of the Chaillot Papers, the monographic publication by the European Union Institute for Security Studies, is devoted to Russia’s cyber posture, some case studies of Russian cyberattacks, and EU and NATO approaches to cyber threats

read more Russia Cybersecurity European policies and legislation Fake news and disinformation Serbia Ukraine Montenegro North Macedonia Georgia Estonia

Informing the “disinformation” debate

A joint report by Access Now, Civil Liberties Union for Europe, and European Digital Rights discusses the Report by the High Level Expert Group on Fake News and Online Disinformation and related policy documents

read more Fake news and disinformation European policies and legislation Media freedom Propaganda Human rights Freedom of expression Media literacy

Weaponizing the Digital Influence Machine: The Political Perils of Online Ad Tech

Developments in technology have turned digital political advertising into a weapon which is dangerous to democracy, a report by Data & Society argues

read more Media funding Digitalisation Digital rights Fake news and disinformation Russia Social media Americas

#TrollTracker: Bots, Botnets, and Trolls

The Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council published a post about how to distinguish bots, botnets and trolls.

read more Social media

Freedom on the Net 2018 - The Rise of Digital Authoritarianism

Covering 87% of the world’s Internet users, Freedom on the Net is a study of Internet freedom in 65 countries around the globe that tracks improvements and declines in Internet freedom conditions each year

read more Access to information Censorship Fake news and disinformation Freedom of expression Media freedom Social media

Media reporting: facts, nothing but facts?

This special report provides an overview of how the principles of accuracy, objectivity, and fairness in news and current affairs reporting are regulated at European and national level

read more Access to information Media freedom

Robust whistleblower protection is a crucial challenge for European democracy

The European Commission published on April 23, 2018, a proposal for a Directive "on the protection of persons reporting on breaches of Union law". Quentin Van Enis, a legal expert specialised in media, analyses for the EFJ the draft directive from the journalists’ perspective

read more Whistleblowing

Sourcing the Sources: An analysis of the use of Twitter and Facebook as a journalistic source

The study analyses the sourcing techniques used by newspaper journalists in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. The comparison of Twitter and Facebook sources is given to verify whether the findings apply to social media in general

read more Ethics of journalism Social media Germany United Kingdom