Türkiye: reverse a critically hostile environment - Reports

The country increasingly turning into a hostile environment for freedom of expression and for journalists, human rights defenders and civil society

Türkiye: Big tech should protect free speech and resist state censorship - Article

Ahead of Türkiye’s municipal elections on 31 March 2024, 22 rights groups and journalists’ organisations jointly call on social media platforms to uphold the free expression rights of their users and resist state censorship. They should also fully disclose all government requests to restrict accounts or content, and be transparent about informal government pressure to restrict content on their platforms.

Journo News Monitor: an AI-powered study on Turkey’s news media - Reports

Amidst significant technological advancements reshaping the media landscape, notably in Generative AI, Turkey's news media are grappled with mounting political pressure and contended with the adverse impacts of platforms on journalism. This report focuses toward two mediums, Turkish news websites and Google's search engine, as previous studies have identified them as the predominant digital channels for news in Turkey. The aim is to assess the potential biases in Google's algorithm and the coverage of news websites throughout 2023.

Silencing Voices in Italy: The Erosion of Media Freedom - Article

Italy's media is in crisis, battling legal onslaughts and facing a surge of censorship one year after the establishment of the far-right government led by Giorgia Meloni

By Sielke Kelner

(Originally published by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung , 16.01.2024)

MFRR highlights threats to media freedom in EU Commission’s Rule of Law report - Article

OBCT and MFRR partners participated in the European Commission's public consultations on the rule of law providing updates on media freedom in EU countries 

Poland: Recommendations for democratic reform for press freedom and public media - Article

OBCT joins MFRR partners in renewing their recommendations to the new Polish government to improve the media freedom situation in the country in line with democratic values and the rule of law  

Communication on Defence of Democracy - Reports

With this Communication the European Commission introduces the Defence of Democracy Package through which it intends to proactively uphold its democratic values and freedoms 

Hungary: Draft Sovereignty Protection Act poses fresh threat to independent media - Article

OBCT joins MFRR partners in drawing the attention of the European Union about the chilling impact of the new Hungarian bill on independent media

Netherlands: Vexatious lawsuit against Het Financieele Dagblad condemned - Article

OBCT joins the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) and the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) in deploring the lawsuit against Dutch daily newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad (FD) and in expressing solidarity with the FD and its journalists. The case, of which the hearing will take place on 13 November 2023, is a clear attempt to silence and discourage Het Financieele Dagblad and its journalists from further reporting

Turkey: Repeal the "disinformation offence" and overreaching legal amendments - Article

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) partner organisations and Article 19 Europe reiterate their call for the annulment of Article 217/A of the Turkish Penal Code and related legal amendments passed in October 2022 that undermine international standards on the right to freedom of expression and of the press.