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EDMO calls for action for the protection of journalists and fact-checkers

EDMO calls for action for the protection of journalists and fact-checkers

EDMO firmly condemns any attack on fact-checkers

The European Digital Media Observatory, the EU’s largest interdisciplinary network to counter disinformation, condemns any assault on journalists, after Croatian fact-check journalist and documentary filmmaker Melita Vrsaljko of Faktograf said she was physically attacked while documenting illegal anti-environmental practices as part of a wider, climate-related journalistic project. More information on this “unprecedented and appalling escalation of violence” is provided by Faktograf on its website.

Stronger action is urgently needed to counter increasing violence against journalists and fact-checkers

Journalists and fact-checkers, especially women, are victims of an increasingly uninhibited climate of aggression, in Europe as in many other regions around the world. The overall deterioration of the safety of journalists in the EU is an appalling reality, which risks undermining the media watchdog role, the quality and pluralism of information, and ultimately European democracy. Threats come both from politicians and private actors and include intimidation towards journalists and fact-checkers engaged in reporting and investigation activities, discreditations, smear campaigns, doxing, online harassment and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). In certain cases, such threats go further and materialise in physical attacks.

In order to provide for a protective framework, the EU has recently adopted new legislation, including the European Media Freedom Act, the Anti-SLAPP Directive, and a Recommendation on the Protection, Safety and Empowerment of Journalists. It is now time for Member States and EU institutions to ensure that these news rules are fully and effectively implemented.

EDMO calls on all democratic political forces and competent authorities to address this alarming challenge with the greatest determination, in line with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU. At the same time, tackling this challenge requires also a whole-of-society response. Therefore, EDMO and its Network of national and regional Hubs will build on the existent pilot framework for the protection of fact-checkers and carry out a fact-finding mission to establish the most prominent risks faced today by the whole community engaged in countering disinformation in Europe, with a view to identifying both pre-emptive and protective measures that could contribute to mitigating the daily risks faced by its community of practitioners.