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

Junk News and Bots during the German Parliamentary Election: What are German Voters Sharing over Twitter?

The article studies Twitter data on bot activity and junk news using a set of hashtags related to the 2017 German Parliamentary Election

read more Fake news and disinformation Germany Propaganda Social media

The cultural and economic power of advertisers in the business press

A study of the impact of advertising practices on the editorial independence of reporters

read more Media funding Media freedom

The Effects of Mass Surveillance on Journalists’ Relations With Confidential Sources

A qualitative study on the way real or perceived surveillance impacts on the behaviour of journalists and their relationship with sources

read more Privacy Media freedom Whistleblowing Surveillance

Control the money, control the media

An account of the ways governments use funding to keep the media in line

read more Media freedom Media funding Media capture

Defining "Fake News." A Typology of Scholarly Definitions

In the last two decades, the term "fake news" has been used with several different meanings, which fall into six categories. It is possible to map them out according to their reliance on facts and their intention to mislead

read more Fake news and disinformation Propaganda Media funding Worldwide

Are people incidentally exposed to news on social media? A comparative analysis

The article examines incidental exposure to news on social media (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter) in four countries (Italy, Australia, United Kingdom, United States) finding that social media use is significantly related to increased news use, even among those who come across news on social media while doing other things

read more Social media United Kingdom Italy Australia New Zeland Pacific Fake news and disinformation

"They Go for Gender First." The Nature and Effect of Sexist Abuse of Female Technology Journalists

Most women journalists writing about technology experience forms of harassment. As a result, they tend to resort to self-censorship and risk to be marginalised from the media industry

read more Media and gender Freedom of expression United Kingdom

Disinformation and Social Bot Operations in the Run Up to the 2017 French Presidential Election

In a paper published on First Monday, Emilio Ferrara studies the role of Twitter in the MacronLeaks disinformation campaign

read more France Fake news and disinformation Social media Americas


Arrest of media professionals quadruples in first quarter 2017

As shown by reports submitted to Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom platform in the first quarter of 2017, media professionals were arrested at an alarming rate, with more than a fourfold increase over the fourth quarter of 2016

read more Freedom of expression Media freedom Belarus Ukraine Romania Turkey Sweden