126 alerts in 4 months: first MFRR-report documents severe threats to media freedom across Europe

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PODGORICA, 10.09.2020. –  The year 2020 seems to add another sad chapter on the decline of media freedom in Europe. Main reasons were the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, police violence and online harassment, shows the first Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) report.

The monitoring report compiled by European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and International Press Institute (IPI), with support from ECPMF, gives unprecedented insight into the threats to media freedom in EU member states and Candidate Countries. Within the monitored period from March to June a total of 126 alerts were registered on the mappingmediafreedom.org platform from two-thirds of the countries covered by the MFRR. This data is the basis for the present report. EFJ, IPI and ECPMF are part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response consortium.

One key trend observed is the negative impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on media freedom. Some governments used the pandemic as a pretext to restrict democratic discourse or reinforce authoritarian tendencies. Mappingmediafreedom.org registered 42 alerts related to the pandemic.

Another trend are the dangers to journalists and media workers when covering protests and demonstrations. The report highlights that in total, 28 journalists and media workers were attacked between March and June during demonstrations and protests. Demonstrators are not the only risk to media professionals. As the report shows, violence and threats from police officers and security services is second only to attacks from private individuals.

The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) was launched in March 2020 to support at-risk journalists and media workers across the EU Member States and Candidate Countries.