MAPPING MEDIA FREEDOM - MONITORING REPORT 2022 by EFJ - IPI - ECPMF
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MAPPING
MEDIA
FREEDOM
2022
MONITORING REPORT
by EFJ – IPI – ECPMF
Content
Introduction.................................................................................................4
Overview.....................................................................................................8
Spotlight on the European Union.....................................................8
Spotlight on Candidate Countries....................................................10
Thematic Analysis .....................................................................................12
War in Ukraine . .................................................................................12
Abusive legal actions against journalists and media outlets . ......15
Online attacks....................................................................................18
Environmental reporting....................................................................22
Country Reports.........................................................................................24
European Union.................................................................................24
Candidate countries..........................................................................32
Conclusion...................................................................................................36
Disclaimer . .................................................................................................37
The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) tracks, monitors and reacts to violations of press and media freedom in
EU Member States and Candidate Countries. This project provides legal and practical support, public advocacy and
information to protect journalists and media workers. The MFRR is organised by an alliance led by the European Centre
for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) including ARTICLE 19 Europe, the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ),
Free Press Unlimited (FPU), International Press Institute (IPI) and CCI/Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBC
Transeuropa). The project commenced in 2020 and is funded by the European Commission. www.mfrr.eu
2 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 3
5
813 9
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MAPPING MEDIA 6
FREEDOM
1
ALERTS 3
15 21
Introduction 18 87 140
1 5
Media freedom in Europe in 2022 was
3
overshadowed by Russia‘s full-scale in- 10
vasion of Ukraine, which started on 24 3 11
51
February. During the first 10 months of the
12 6
war, nine journalists lost their lives work-
ing on the ground, and many more were 14
injured and attacked while reporting from 41
front lines. The conflict has cast a dark
45 10
shadow over press freedom in Europe, a 12
continent where reporters were already 5 22 11 167
facing attacks that hindered their ability to 17
work freely.
42
From January 2022 until December, the
Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR)
recorded 813 media freedom violations in 4
Map with alerts in all countries (EU MS + CC including Ukraine and Moldova)
4 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 5
EU Member States and candidate countries type of incidents were verbal attacks (in- rise of these types of online incidents, such graphics about the press freedom situation
involving 1339 individuals or media outlets. volving 42.4% of all alerts) – such as intimi- as insults on social media or phones being in the EU and in candidate countries in 2022,
In 2021, the MFRR recorded 654 alerts, al- dation and threats (24.6%) or insults (13.3%) hacked to spy on journalists and their sourc- four thematic sections with quantitative and
though it must be noted that Ukraine and – followed by legal attacks (27.2%), to which es. qualitative analysis regarding the aforemen-
Moldova were only included in the 2022 re- this report dedicates an extensive chapter tioned topics, and country reports offering
port as they were not candidate countries on the year that the European Commission Additionally, a fourth thematic chapter fo- a summary of the most relevant threats in
the previous year. put forward a proposal for an EU anti-SLAPP cuses on the threats faced by journalists the following EU countries: Belgium, Estonia,
directive. covering climate and environmental topics France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy,
The current monitoring report offers an (12 alerts in the EU in 2022). In the past year, Poland, Spain, and Sweden; and in the fol-
overview of the media freedom situation After legal incidents, physical attacks were as these protests became more disruptive, lowing candidate countries: Albania, North
across the EU and candidate countries in the third most common type of attack journalists covering these actions were sub- Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey.
2022, and it starts with a thematic chapter against journalists and media workers in the jected to obstruction of their work, and, in
on the war in Ukraine and its repercussions EU (20.5%), followed by attacks to prop- some cases, suffered worrying legal conse- The report has been compiled by the Inter-
on media freedom. The MFRR started mon- erty (15.7%) – such as equipment (8.7%) – quences. national Press Institute (IPI), the European
itoring the country immediately after the and censorship incidents, which rose from Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and the Eu-
full-scale Russian invasion started in late 8.6% of the total attacks in 2021 to 14.5% in The Monitoring Report also covers the me- ropean Centre for Press and Media Freedom
February, and it recorded 140 media free- 2022. Private individuals remained the main dia freedom situation in candidate coun- (ECPMF), as part of the joint Media Freedom
dom violations, which amount to 17.2% of perpetrators of attacks against journalists tries, where the MFRR registered the most Rapid Response (MFRR) project which mon-
the total registered in all analysed countries in the EU (37.8% of cases), but that rep- severe violations of media freedom: 10 itors and supports journalists, media work-
in 2022. resented a decrease from 50% of cases in deaths of journalists. Nine of them took ers, and platforms that have been threat-
2021. Government and public officials were place in Ukraine and affected media work- ened. The project is funded by the European
However, concerns over the safety of jour- the second most common source of attacks ers covering the war, and another one in Commission. Past reports can be download-
nalists and media workers in the continent (17.1%), followed by police and state security Turkey, where Güngör Arslan, managing ed on the MapMF website, and the alerts for
were not constrained to those profession- (11.3%). editor of the Turkish newspaper Ses Kocaeli this report can be accessed through the
als working in a war zone. In 2022, report- was murdered. Alert Explorer here, which is constantly up-
ers across Europe faced many forms of As for context of incidents, it is relevant to dated and collects and visualises all alerts
pressure and attacks, ranging from death mention that while in 2021 protests were The report is divided into the following documented by the monitoring partners. ■
threats or having their phones hacked with the most frequent place for journalists to chapters: an overview offering data and
spyware, to being targeted with vexatious be attacked (39.8%) – mostly those against
lawsuits by private companies or prevented COVID-19 measures or vaccination pro-
from accessing press conferences. grammes – 2022 data shows that protests
only accounted for 21% of the alerts, while
415 alerts were recorded in European Union attacks taking place online rose from 14.1%
Member States, while 398 were registered in 2021 to 20.7% in 2022. The current report
in candidate countries . In the EU, the main dedicates its third thematic chapter to the
6 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 7Overview
Main types of attacks in EU Member States Sources of attacks in EU Member States
Spotlight on the European Union
Journalists and media actors in Verbal: In more than 4 out of 10 media actors faced legal conse-
European Union member states incidents (42.4%, 176 alerts), quences. This includes, amongst Contexts of attacks in EU Member States
face several different types of media actors were verbally others, civil lawsuits (29), crimi-
attacks. Sometimes they even abused. This includes intimida- nal charges (27), legal measures
face several types of attacks at tion/threats (24.6%, 102 alerts), like laws restricting press and
the same time, such as a verbal insult/abuse (55 alerts), dis- media freedom (16), and arrest/
and a physical attack performed crediting (31), harassment (13), detention/imprisonment (12).
within the same incident by the sexual verbal harassment (5),
same aggressor. This section and bullying/trolling (3) targeting Censorship: In more than 1 out
shows how many alerts involved media actors. of 7 incidents (14.5%, 60 alerts),
a certain type of attack. The media actors faced censorship.
types of attacks are grouped Property: In more than 1 out of This includes, amongst others,
into five main categories with 7 incidents (15.7%, 65 alerts), blocked access to information
detailed information provided property was attacked. This (e.g. blocked websites or no
below. includes equipment (36 alerts), answers to enquiries) (27 alerts),
attacks to general property like arbitrary denial of accredita-
Physical: In 1 out of 5 incidents cars or houses (14), hacking/ tion or registration (including
(20.5%, 85 alerts), media actors DDoS attacks (12), or personal blocked access to events or
were physically attacked. In 20 belongings (4). press conferences) (20 alerts),
incidents (4.8%) media actors disinformation (5), journalistic Source: mappingmediafreedom.org
were injured. Legal: In more than 1 out of 4 work not being published (5), or The data comprises documented Mapping Media Freedom alerts between 01/01/2022 and 31/12/2022 for European Union member
incidents (27.2%, 113 alerts), commercial interference (3). states, based on the documentation status of 25/01/2023. One incident and thus alert can include multiple types of attacks (e.g. verbal
and physical attack performed within the same incident) affecting more than one journalist or media actor and being performed by more
than one type of actor. Especially legal incidents where journalists or outlets receive multiple related or similar legal threats, are currently
recorded as one alert.
8 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 9Sources of attacks in EU candidate countries
Main types of attacks in EU candidate countries*
* Excluding Ukraine and Moldova
Contexts of attacks in EU candidate countries
Spotlight on Candidate Countries
Graphs offer an overview of the main types of attacks that took
place in states that had the status of candidate countries to the EU
throughout 2022. They therefore do not include data from Ukraine,
monitored by the MFRR from the start of the Russian full-scale inva-
sion in February 2022 and for which there is a separate graph and
chapter of the report. Graphs also do not cover Moldova – monitored
by the MFRR from June when it became a Candidate Country – or
Bosnia, which became a Candidate Country in December and will
start to be systematically monitored by MFRR in 2023.
Source: mappingmediafreedom.org
The data comprises documented Mapping Media Freedom alerts between 01/01/2022 and 31/12/2022 for European Union candidate
countries, based on the documentation status of 25/01/2023. One incident and thus alert alert can include multiple types of attacks (e.g.
verbal and physical attack performed within the same incident) affecting more than one journalist or media actor and being performed
by more than one type of actor. Especially legal incidents where journalists or outlets receive multiple related or similar legal threats, are
currently recorded as one alert.
10 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 11Thematic Analysis Main types of attacks in Ukraine
Irpyn bridge – day 37 of russian invasion to Ukraine (1 April 2022)
Photo: Andriy Dubchak / Dobas Frontliner
War in Ukraine Pierre Zakrzewski, Oleksandra Kuvshynova, needed to confirm the details. The data of
Oksana Baulina, Maks Levin, Mantas Kve- the MFRR partners excludes Ukrainian jour-
Media freedom in Ukraine faced the great- months of 2022 in which the MFRR recorded daravičius, and Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff. Five nalists who were killed while fighting in the
est crisis in the country’s modern history in alerts in Ukraine, the MapMF platform docu- were killed by gunfire, three by shelling, and military and Ukrainian journalists who were
2022. Russia’s full-scale invasion in Febru- mented 140 attacks and violations of media one in unconfirmed circumstances. In some killed in their homes during indiscriminate
ary posed existential threats to the future of freedom involving 220 different targets. The cases, there is evidence that Russian troops Russian shelling of Kyiv and other cities.
Ukrainian journalism and the country’s dem- majority of these alerts (60.7%) were doc- targeted the journalists and their crews de-
ocratic system. Russia’s war of aggression umented during the first three months of spite clear PRESS insignia on vehicles or MapMF data shows that the first three
also took a deadly toll on journalists and me- the conflict, with attacks persisting through safety gear. In others, MFRR partners were months of the war were by far the most
dia workers covering the war from the front the summer but then steadily decreasing in unable to independently identify the source dangerous. In total, 60.7% of all documented
lines, making 2022 the deadliest year for autumn. Overall, journalists and reporters of the fire. All of these killings occurred attacks occurred between February 24 and
journalists in Europe in many decades. The were attacked in 65% of the recorded cases, during the first four months of the conflict May 24. Overall, this includes 21 cases of
killings, threats, and pressures facing the while photographers and camera operators when fast-changing frontlines exposed war domestic and foreign journalists in Ukraine
media in Ukraine have cast a dark shadow accounted for 25% of alerts, and media out- reporters to the most serious physical harm. suffering serious injuries since the start of
over press freedom in Europe and brought lets/broadcasters a further 22.8%. the war due to shelling, airstrikes, or gunfire
into focus the devastating effect war has on There is partial evidence that at least from military forces. An additional 30 cases
journalism. Nine Journalists and media workers, both three more Ukrainian journalists and media were documented in which reporting crews
Ukrainian reporters and international cor- workers may have been killed or execut- or individual journalists were physically at-
The MFFR began monitoring Ukraine as respondents, are confirmed to have been ed by Russian troops in occupied territory tacked, including being caught in artillery
soon as the invasion began on 24 February killed in the line of duty or as part of their in apparent connection to their profession, fire or being shot at but escaping unharmed.
2022. During the reporting period, Ukraine journalistic work in Ukraine in 2022, ac- though these cases have not yet been veri- In addition, at least eight journalists were
officially became a candidate country for the cording to MFRR monitoring partners: Ihor fied and the motive remains unclear. Further kidnapped or abducted, with some under-
European Union in June 2022. During the 10 Hudenko, Yevheniy Sakun, Brent Renaud, investigations by Ukrainian authorities are going torture and other abuses at the hands
12 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 13of Russian soldiers before being released Some cases were documented in Ukraine
or transferred to detention centres. Overall, that were not linked to the war, including
physical attacks made up almost half (47.1%) the beating of four journalists and media
of all documented alerts (66). and military workers by Ukrainian law enforcement of-
forces were assessed to be the source of ficials as they were reporting on a protest.
37.1% of all documented alerts in 2022.1 While the vast majority of media freedom
violations recorded in 2022 were attributed
Journalists reporting from or near the front to Russian military forces, the Ukrainian au-
lines of the war were unsurprisingly at most thorities were responsible for some cases.
risk. In total, 53.6% of all documented media These involved wartime restrictions on the
freedom violations occurred within an ac- press, including the revocation of accredita-
tive warzone, while a further 7.9% occurred tion for journalists who allegedly broke rules
while journalists were travelling between on operating in combat areas in reporting on
locations or on their way to or from the the recapture of Kherson, and the merging
front lines. Online attacks against journal- of all nationwide TV channels into a single Photo: Ro Ma / Pixabay
ists made up a further 18.6% of document- government-run service. Media freedom
Abusive legal actions against journalists and media outlets
ed cases, as Ukrainian journalists became groups have also raised concern over a bill
the target of threats and intimidation from which would hand the national regulator In 2022, the MFRR partners documented 39 in European Union Member States and
anonymous people, often sending emails or powers to invalidate online news outlets’ 237 legal incidents against 388 different me- eight in candidate countries. These included
messages from Russian territory, over their registrations, issue fines against them, and dia actors, including arrests and detentions both civil and criminal lawsuits. Many jour-
reporting on the war. The MFRR also docu- shut them down without a court order. of journalists and civil and criminal lawsuits. nalists were sued by powerful or wealthy in-
mented 13 cases of Ukrainian media outlets 113 of these press freedom violations were dividuals aiming to silence legitimate public
facing cyber-attacks, including distributed While overall 2022 has been a devastating registered in the European Union and 124 in interest journalism and investigative report-
denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, often at- year for media freedom, the country’s media candidate countries. The EU Member States ing. Many lawsuits were filed as an act of
tributed to Russian hackers. In the 90 alerts sector remains afloat. While the war drags where the highest number of legal incidents retribution for damaging revelations, while
involving individual journalists or media on and an end to hostilities does not appear were registered were Greece (21), France others appeared to have been filed in an ef-
workers in which the gender was known, in sight, safety, financial, and psychological (15), Spain (12), and Italy (11). Turkey (89) fort to financially destroy an individual jour-
male journalists were involved in 70 alerts pressures on Ukrainian journalists remain was the candidate country with the most nalist or slowly drain funding from a media
(77.8%) and women journalists in 30 alerts intense. However, the country’s journalistic recorded legal incidents in 2022, illustrat- outlet.
(33.3%).2 community has also won acclaim across the ing the severity of the ongoing crackdown
world for the courage shown in rising to the on all forms of independent media ahead of France emerged as a particular area of
1 The Ukraine War Tracker by the International challenge of covering the war in their home the 2023 election. The threats posed to me- concern in this area in 2022. A controver-
Press Institute has identified that the Russian country. ■ dia freedom across Europe by legal actions, sial gagging order issued against Mediapart
military was responsible for 94.3% of all violations
against journalists and media perpetrated by
including Strategic Lawsuits Against Public raised major concerns over censorship and
armed forces in Ukraine during the conflict. Participation (SLAPPs) and abusive lawsuits media freedom. Other cases included friv-
2 It must be noted that some alerts track more than
continued to crystallise in 2022. olous defamation claims against Le Monde
one person being attacked at the same time. A
number of those include both men and women, Diplomatique by Bolloré Africa Logistics, a
which is the reason why one alert can be counted In the last year, the MFRR partners docu- lawsuit against La Tribune by Italian ship-
as affecting both male and female journalists, and
therefore the overall percentage is over 100%. mented at least 47 vexatious lawsuits and builder Fincantieri, and three separate law-
threats of proceedings against journalists: suits against ASI, Mediapart, and Reflets by
14 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 15Avisa Partners. French telecom company Chondrogiannos was targeted in a SLAPP involved criminal charges against Alin Cris- EU being sentenced to imprisonment due to
Altice, owned by Switzerland-based busi- by a recycling company. These claims in- tea, Editor-in-Chief of the local online news their journalism in 2022.
nessman Patrick Drahis, as well as compa- cluded disproportionate demands for finan- outlet debrăila.ro in Romania. The charges
nies owned by the group, were responsible cial compensation. against him were later dropped. Overall, the figures on legal threats doc-
for the other three alerts. umented in 2022 further underscore the
While some vexatious lawsuits resolved in In addition to civil and criminal lawsuits, the need for the decriminalisation of defamation
Italy moved further onto the radar for 2022 resulted in the cases being dismissed MFRR also documented 64 cases involving laws, a strong anti-SLAPP directive by the
SLAPPs after the formation of a new hard- by a court or judge, a handful of cases end- the arrest, detention, or imprisonment of European Union, and other measures at na-
right government led by the Fratelli d'Italia ed in the journalists or media outlets being journalists in the EU and Candidate Coun- tional level which would protect journalists
Party and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in found guilty and ordered to pay damages. tries. 40 of these alerts were recorded in and media from unfounded lawsuits. Figures
October. In addition to the continuation of a The most worrying examples here occurred Turkey, which remains by far the most prob- about detentions of journalists also illustrate
previous lawsuit filed by Meloni against jour- in Poland. In October, Polish journalist and lematic country in Europe for criminal prose- the need for additional training for police
nalist and writer Roberto Saviano, the new writer Piątek was initially sentenced to eight cution and imprisonment of journalists, with about the role and rights of journalists and
PM also initiated a lawsuit against Emiliano months of community service after losing a 41 currently in jail. 22 out of all 29 convic- photojournalists reporting from protests and
Fittipaldi, one of Italy's best-known investi- defamation trial in a SLAPP case, while in tions journalists recorded in 2022 were in demonstrations. ■
gative reporters and the editor of the left- May a court found investigative journalist Turkey, which was also the country where
wing daily newspaper Domani over an arti- Grzegorz Rzeczkowski guilty of defamation the highest number of legal incidents were
cle written on 19 October 2021, regarding an in a lawsuit involving a series of articles he registered (89).
alleged abuse of office. wrote for Polityka. Outside the EU, in No-
vember the Crime and Corruption Investi- Inside the EU, 12 cases of unjustified arrests
SLAPPs also remained a concerning issue gative Network (KRIK) in Serbia was found of journalists and media workers were doc-
in Greece. The most prominent SLAPP was guilty of defamation by a judge over a re- umented in nine Member States in 2022.
filed by Grigoris Dimitriadis, the nephew port it published about evidence presented Arrests of those covering environmental
and former General Secretary in the office in court involving the Interior Minister, which protests and demonstrations remained the
of the Prime Minister, who stepped down was widely condemned as a SLAPP. main context. Problematic examples includ-
shortly after investigative media outlets ed the arrests of Spanish journalist Joanna
published revelations about his connec- Though much rarer, journalists and media Giménez and a photojournalist colleague as
tions with a spyware company. The lawsuit outlets in some EU countries faced threats they covered a protest by environmental ac-
was filed against newspaper Efimerida ton of criminal prosecution linked to their tivists at the Prado Museum in Madrid; the
Syntakton (EFSYN), Reporters United, and work. Worrying cases were documented in arrest of Swedish journalist Markus Jordö
their reporters Nikola Leontopoulos and Greece, including the arrest warrant issued while he covered a climate demonstration
Thodoris Chondrogiannos, and freelance against journalist Petros Kousoulos, criminal in Stockholm; and the detention of two Ital-
financial journalist Thanasis Koukakis, who charges filed against photojournalist Nikos ian journalists as they reported on a climate
was himself surveilled by Predator spyware. Pilos, and the serious criminal charges protest by environmental activists at an air-
Fotini Lampridi and her media outlet tvxs.gr brought by a special court against four port near Rome. In the vast majority of cas-
were targeted in civil and criminal defama- Greek journalists and publishers linked to es, the journalists were quickly released and
tion lawsuits by the former Vice President their investigative reporting on the Novartis police did not press charges. The MFRR did
of UNICEF Hellas in Greece; and Thodoris scandal. Another prominent case in the EU not document any cases of journalists in the
16 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 17Online attacks in the EU
2021 2022
14,1% 20,7%
online attacks
70 online attacks
86
other attacks
other attacks 329
428
Photo: Sora Shimazaki / pexels.com
Online attacks
During 2022, the MFRR recorded 158 online those, the most common subtypes regis- identifying as a supporter of Giorgia Meloni, claimed the attack. Following an investiga-
attacks, 86 of which took place in the EU tered involved intimidation and threats (37 leader of the national-conservative political tion on the same topic, the Balkan Investi-
and 72 in candidate countries . They affect- alerts), followed by discrediting (19) and party Brothers of Italy and current Prime gative Reporting Network (BIRN) and the
ed 261 journalists and media outlets. insults (14). While online attacks affected Minister of the country. Moual is well-known media outlet Solomon were attacked by an
journalists all over the EU, the MFRR reg- for her reporting on immigration, complexity unknown source. Both websites were tem-
2022 saw a rise in online attacks against istered the most cases in Greece (11), Italy of integration, and minority rights. porarily suspended. In this case too, no one
journalists and media workers in the Euro- (9), and the Netherlands (9). claimed the attack.
pean Union. While in 2021 online attacks In Romania, journalist Emilia Sercan became
made up 14.1% of all attacks in EU member In Italy, out of the nine online attacks that the target of a smear campaign after inves- The MFRR platform also recorded 5 cases
states (and were far behind protests, which took place in 2022, nearly half were linked tigating how Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă linked to online surveillance of journalistic
accounted for the context where 39.8% of to the far-right. Paolo Berizzi was the first had plagiarised his doctoral thesis. data in the EU. In Spain, four journalists con-
incidents happened), in 2022 online attacks reporter in the country to need round-the- nected to the Catalan pro-independence
rose to 20.7%, almost on par with protests clock police protection for his investigations In the EU, there was also a rise in online movement were reported to have had their
(21.0%). One out of five recorded incidents into right-wing extremism, for which he re- attacks against property, including 11 cas- mobile phones infected with the Pegasus
happened online. ceived death threats online. In August, jour- es recorded by the MFRR involving hacking or Candiru spywares. Earlier in the year, fa-
nalist Antonella Napoli revealed that she had attacks and Distributed Denial-of-Service mous Spanish journalist Ignacio Cembrero
The MFRR recorded 86 alerts in EU member received rape and death threats following (DDoS). Investigative media outlet Inside was revealed to have been a potential target
states from January to December involving the publication of an article criticising racial Story’s website was slowed down and of surveillance using the Pegasus spyware.
online attacks, ranging from harassment to hatred instigated by the far-right. The same sometimes inaccessible to the readers as It is not known whether the spyware infect-
disinformation campaigns. A large majority month, journalist Karima Moual received a result of a DDoS attack in July, after the ed his device. In Greece, Documento pub-
of cases were classified as verbal abuse insults and death threats from a self-pro- publication of an investigation into Turk- lished an investigation showing that at least
or online harassment (73.3%, 63 alerts). Of claimed right-wing Facebook account, ish businessman Yasam Ayavefe. No one
18 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 19six people connected to the media had been probability of suffering online harassment. line harassment, threats, hacking, and dis- who were attacked by armed assailants af-
targeted by the Predator spyware. While verbal online attacks against men only information. Additionally, it must be noted ter they had received thousands of threats
accounted for 14.2% of the total of attacks that disinformation campaigns linked to the through social media. They had recent-
In the EU, one out of three online attacks suffered by this group, for women they rep- war not only affected Ukraine but also other ly published an episode on the National-
(33.7%, 29 alerts) were performed by pri- resented 28.4% of the total. In Sweden, TV countries in Europe. Campaigns emanated ist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet
vate individuals (29). For a considerable presenter and journalist Welmoed Sijtma from Russia and were part of a propaganda Bahçeli. Uzun Oruç underlined that they
amount (30.2%, 26 alerts), the perpetra- raised the alarm on the risks of using tech- operation to promote the Kremlin’s invasion were openly targeted on social media by a
tor of the attack was unknown. However, nology to denigrate journalists and media of Ukraine. number of MHP officials and that the major-
the MFRR recorded several cases in which workers, based on a personal experience ity of the threats under social media posts
government and public officials were the her image had been used to create deep In Serbia (13 alerts regarding online at- were leading to accounts related to an ul-
source of online threats (18). In Latvia, a fake porn videos. In Italy, journalist Lucia tacks), daily newspaper Danas’ staff and tra-nationalist group called “grey wolves‘‘.
Member of Parliament from the right-wing Piemontese, Deputy Director of the news- the Editor-in-Chief Dragoljub Petrovic re- Turkey registered 22 alerts regarding online
party “National Alliance” insulted a journalist paper Quotidiano l‘Attacco received multiple ceived violent anonymous emails, in which attacks in 2022.
on Twitter, calling her a “political prostitute”. sexist and misogynistic attacks related to they could read that “salvos of bullets” could
In Slovakia, Finance Minister and Deputy her work. One message she received said a be fired at them and it could “end up” in an Therefore, it must be noted that online vi-
Prime Minister of the country Igor Matovič video with “explicit content” that would con- attack such as the one at Charlie Hebdo’s olence is often the first step that can lead
attacked and smeared the editor of news- cern her would be released. Most messages office in 2015, in which twelve people were to physical violence, and the common nar-
paper Denník N, Matúš Kostolný, in a post aimed to delegitimise her work in the hope murdered. rative normalising online insults and threats
published on Facebook. The post came as she would stop reporting on certain topics. against journalists and media workers has to
a reaction to an opinion piece by Kostol- The chance of online threats turning into be challenged as it can have severe physi-
ny about Matovič and his political party, to Attacks were not always directed towards physical violence is underlined by the Turk- cal and psychological consequences for the
which Matovič reacted by calling the editor the journalists or media companies direct- ish case of a journalist from Sokak Kedisi journalists and media workers targeted. ■
“a disgrace”. ly; close family members of journalists were TV Uzun Oruç and cameraman Barış Oruç,
targeted on 5 occasions and the same hap-
Companies and corporations were at the pened to their sources: some were threat-
source of 5 alerts regarding online attacks ened with death or were the targets of spy-
in the European Union. In April 2022, Face- ware attacks. In Poland, the daughter of TV
book blocked two posts from the media out- anchor Tomasz Lis, received death threats
let Euractiv, which were describing Meta’s over the phone.
fight against EU data legislation.
The MFRR platform reported 72 online at-
While the MFRR registered online attacks tacks in candidate countries in 2022. The
against men and women journalists, it is im- invasion of Ukraine by Russia strongly im-
portant to mention that all registered cas- pacted the figures related to online viola-
es where the online attack included sexual tions in candidate countries , with 25 alerts
harassment were targeting women. Addi- identified by MFRR in Ukraine during the
tionally, women journalists have a higher year. Cases in Ukraine included targeted on-
20 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 21lack of knowledge and understanding of the that he would be prosecuted as an activist.
work of journalists by the authorities. In Germany, journalist Marco Brás Do Santos
was found guilty of trespassing in a trial initi-
In the EU, private companies were registered ated by the energy company Mitteldeutsche
as the perpetrators of environmental report- Braunkohlengesellschaft (MIBRAG), after he
ing attacks in 3 cases. In Poland, TVN24 had covered an action by activist group Ende
and Fakty TVN teams were excluded from Gelände in late 2019.
a press conference held by the energy as-
sociation Towarzystwo Gospodarcze Polskie In candidate countries , the MFRR recorded
Elektrownie, while other journalists were not five alerts linked to environmental reporting,
allowed to record it. In Germany, Zweites ranging from physical assaults to intimida-
Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) was denied ac- tion. In Turkey, two journalists who were in-
creditation for the opening of Elon Musk‘s vestigating a lead related to imported waste
new Tesla plant, one of the most important treatment across an Industrial Recycling
Photo: H. Hach / Pixabay
industrial projects in Eastern Germany, whose Plant in the southern Turkish city of Adana
impact on regional biodiversity was at the were assaulted by a group of workers from
Environmental reporting
centre of a ZDF investigative report in 2021. the companies Akbulut Recycling and Ak-
During 2022, the MFRR recorded 17 inci- In France, three journalists were asked by In written correspondence with Tesla, ZDF gül Recycling. The injuries sustained by the
dents that took place while journalists were the police to stop recording interviews with was told that the broadcaster, „due to ear- journalists required treatment in hospital.
covering environmental issues, such as re- activists blocking Total‘s General Assembly lier reporting by the investigative magazine
porting on climate protests or investigating in Paris. In Italy, two journalists were held Frontal 21“, was no longer enjoying „trust“ In Serbia, the MFRR reported two cases of
pollution in cities. Of those, 12 took place for four hours after having been arrested from Tesla. The ZDF team was therefore only intimidation attempts. In June, four journal-
in EU Member States and 5 in candidate alongside activists at Rome airport during able to report from outside the premises. ists investigating environmental pollution in
countries. Types of attacks related to en- a climate protest, even after showing their Bosilegrad were assaulted by the director
vironmental reporting vary, and range from accreditations. Some of these cases reached the courts. In and several employees of the mine they were
physical assault to verbal abuse or arrest. Spain, journalist Joanna Giménez and a pho- doing a report on, who threw rocks at them
Flammans journalist Noa Söderberg and tojournalist were arrested as they tried to cov- and their equipment. In July, editor Drago-
In the EU, half of the cases (6) happened Getty freelance photojournalist Jonas er a protest by environmental activists at the jlo Blagojević received anonymous death
while journalists were covering protests Gratzer were covering a climate protest in Prado Museum in Madrid. Giménez was held threats on the phone following the publica-
and demonstrations. As for perpetrators of Stockholm when the police arrested them, in detention overnight and charged by the tion of an article on the logging industry.
environmental reporting alerts, the MFRR allegedly in accordance with section 13 of National Police for property damage, damage
identified police and state security as being the police act to „prevent criminal activities“. to historical heritage, and disturbance of pub- In April, three employees of the news portal
the source of alerts in 5 cases. In Germany, Two months later, journalist Markus Jor- lic order. The photojournalist, whose name soinfo.org were charged with misdemean-
the police tried to intimidate journalist Danni dö was also detained for six hours by the was not published, was also held overnight our after covering an action by activists pro-
Pilger while he was covering a co-organised Stockholm police, and his equipment was and charged with the same three offences. testing against the Rio Tinto company’s plan
Extinction Rebellion and Letzte Generation confiscated. He was covering an action by a to open a lithium mine in western Serbia. In
protest in Berlin. They stopped, searched, group of activists that were blocking a mo- In France, freelancer Grégoire Souchay was May, 021.rs’s portal journalist Dragan Prica
and harassed him and he was held for about torway, reporting for the public broadcaster on trial as his press credentials were not tak- Kovacevic was asked to leave an open trial
60 minutes. STV. In both cases, the Swedish Union of en into account while he was covering an against Dragana Arsic, an activist from “Let’s
Journalists (Journalistförbundet) blamed a activists‘ action and the authorities decided Defend the Forests of Fruska Gora”. ■
22 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 23Country Reports The harassment was connected to video Additionally, anti-COVID-19 measures pro-
footage of an interview that Bawołek was tests were still organised at the beginning
filming in Brussels for Polsat TV with Don- of the year. One of the biggest incidents of
This chapter provides deeper insights into the press freedom situation in selected countries. ald Tusk, the leader of the Civic Platform. In 2022 took place when Postimees journalist
Monitoring is performed systematically and relies on diverse sources, including established Flanders, editorialist Kurt Vandemaele dis- Sander Punamäe was covering one of these
networks across countries, individuals reporting directly through ReportIt, and through the covered Flemish flags planted in his garden protests. The protest was held in Tallinn, the
use of an innovative tool based on Artificial Intelligence detecting reported press freedom in the morning of the Belgian National Day, country’s capital, by the ultra-traditional-
violations in news articles and Tweets. To interpret the media freedom situation of a country while in Wallonia, a local politician threat- ist leader and jurist Varro Vooglaid. There,
it is important to take into account that reporting of alerts might vary slightly between states ened L’Avenir journalist Caroline Viatour with the reporter faced public humiliation, was
due to different conceptions of what constitutes a severe media freedom violation. The goal legal action and pressured the publisher to called a liar and a propagandist, and had
of the MFRR is to identify violations and trends in all countries, and therefore it is important stop investigating suspected financial mal- to leave the premises. On the same day,
to analyse topics and countries quantitatively but also qualitatively. practice surrounding a local festival. Estonian far-right Conservative National
Party (EKRE) MPs Peeter Ernits and Urmas
Reitelmann targeted Punamäe online. In
European Union Estonia a post published on his profile, MP Ernits
called Punamäe a “propagandist” and said
Cases of verbal abuse remained a concern 5 / USERS-BETWEEN-LINES 9 that „propaganda should be thrown out the
Belgium with 11 serious cases registered. They in- door.”
clude online harassment against female The MFRR recorded 5 alerts in Estonia in-
18 / USERS-BETWEEN-LINES 233 journalists, insults, discrediting, and intim- volving 9 targets. The war in Ukraine heavily
idation practices. Two of the most severe impacted Estonia, one of Russia’s closest France
The MFRR recorded 18 alerts for Belgium cases involved two prominent journalists. neighbours. On 24 February, the first day of
involving 23 journalists and media outlets. De Morgen’s Samira Atillah faced death the war in Ukraine, the Consumer Protection 51 / USERS-BETWEEN-LINES 77
Like in France and Germany, during the first threats of racist and misogynistic nature: and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA)
half of the year media professionals in Bel- she received anonymous calls, as well as in Estonia ordered the closure of broadcast- The MFRR recorded 51 alerts involving 77
gium were the target of physical and verbal messages and photos with sexual content. ing services of four Russian TV channels individuals and media outlets in the coun-
abuse, including death threats from oppo- Journalist Safia Kessas, responsible for di- and one Belarusian TV channel. The TTJA try in 2022. The most common type of in-
nents of government measures to combat versity and equality at the public broadcast- decision was based on the grounds that the cidents in France were verbal attacks (22
the spread of the Coronavirus. The second er RTBF, received police protection after channels allegedly disseminated propagan- alerts, 43.1%), which included intimidation
half was marked by violence against TV she was targeted by an online harassment da of the Russian government. and threats (17 alerts) and insults and abuse
crews covering the outbursts in Brussels campaign on social media as she prepared towards journalists (5), amongst others. For
that followed the Belgium-Morocco football to host a debate with the American feminist In April, journalists Tarmo Vahter and Sulev the majority of these cases, private individ-
game during the 2022 World Cup. At least writer Angela Davis. Vedler, working for the media Eesti Ekspress, uals were the perpetrators.
four teams of journalists working for RTBF, were fined by the Harju County Court judge
VRT, RTL, and VTM Nieuws were punched, Journalists working on political issues after the publication of an article revealing While many of these verbal incidents took
hit by fireworks in the face, pelted with were also highly exposed. Polsat EU corre- that the Office of the Prosecutor General place during demonstrations or on the
stones, and had their equipment destroyed spondent Dorota Bawołek was targeted by was investigating Swedbank Estonia. They street, verbal abuse online remained at a
and stolen by individuals. a smear campaign fueled by Poland’s state were fined for disclosing information about consequential level. Fact-checkers and
broadcaster TVP, which resulted in numer- criminal proceedings without the approval journalists Julien Pain, Tristan Mendes
3 Number of alerts / USERS-BETWEEN-LINES Number of individuals or ous hate messages sent on social media. of the prosecutor‘s office. (France Info), and Rudy Reichstadt (founder
media entities
24 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 25of the website Conspiracy Watch) were in- Partner and eventually launched legal pro- saulted during protests, often by Querdenk- journalists. MapMF recorded a total of 42
sulted and threatened on Twitter. Libération ceedings for defamation. en (Lateral Thinking) members, an anti-pan- violations involving 63 persons or entities
journalist Pierre Plottu was directly target- demic regulation movement. Two out of related to media. The safety of journalists
ed by the social media influencer ‘Papacito’ three incidents during demonstrations were remained a serious concern after multiple
who, in a video, said he would have a dis- Germany related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The physical attacks.
cussion with him and that he would come hostile sentiment towards the press brought
„equipped“. 87 / USERS-BETWEEN-LINES 143 journalists and media workers to be accom- Legal cases made up half (50%, 21 alerts) of
panied by security, in an effort to reduce the the documented press freedom violations.
Physical assaults (21.6%, 11 alerts) – more In 2022, the MFRR recorded 87 violations number of attacks. including hefty financial demands filed by
than half of them (6) resulting in injuries – of media freedom in Germany involving 143 private individuals and public officials. In
were an important feature recorded in the targets. While the number is lower than last A large majority of the 2022 alerts were di- January, multiple journalists and publishers
MFRR platform. Many of them took place year, it remains concerning, and it confirms rected at individual journalists and media were charged as part of a major criminal
while journalists were covering demonstra- a trend in the deterioration of press and me- workers, but 9 incidents were directed at probe in relation to their revelations about
tions, such as journalist Zakaria Abdelkafi dia freedom in the country, especially when media companies. The MFRR also record- the Novartis scandal.
who was wounded while covering a strike in it comes to the coverage of demonstrations, ed 6 cases of arbitrary denial of accredita-
Paris for the media Al-Arabiya. an issue that was already prominent last tion to cover events and press conferences In April, investigative outlet Reporters Unit-
year. such as one in which journalist Tobias Wolf ed revealed that financial journalist Thana-
The electoral campaign for the presidential was denied press accreditation to cov- sis Koukasis was spied on in summer 2021
and legislative elections, which took place The demonstrations against the COVID-19 er a congress of the party Alternative für using the spyware tool Predator. As the situ-
over the months of April, May, and June pandemic measures marked 2022’s land- Deutschland (AfD). ation unfolded, multiple other Greek journal-
2022, resulted in five incidents ranging from scape for the third year in a row together ists were allegedly surveilled and monitored
physical assault to denial of accreditation. with the rise of the Monday-night demon- Accessing information held by public au- in connection with the spyware scandal. In
Several journalists were prevented from strations against the cost-of-living crisis. thorities was complicated in the country November, Greek newspaper Documento
carrying out their watchdog role during the They are an important factor when it comes too. In June, the Tagesspiegel lost a Free- then reported that numerous journalists,
campaign. On 2 April, journalists from the in- to harassment and abuse towards journal- dom of Information dispute with the German media owners and figures connected to the
dependent media Blast, QG, and Reporterre ists and media workers. More than 2 out of Chancellery, after the Berlin-Brandenburg Greek media industry were among people to
were refused access to the only political 3 attacks against journalists in the country Higher Administrative Court decided that have been targeted using Predator. Journal-
rally Macron held during his election cam- (69.0%, 60 alerts) took place during pro- the Chancellery did not have to provide in- ists and newspapers who reported on spy-
paign. A week later, during a “Yellow Vests” tests. In this context, the most common formation about past off-the-record meet- ware were also targeted with lawsuits and
protest, a journalist from Nouvel Obs was types of attacks were verbal abuse (32), ings between Angela Merkel and journalists. criminal investigations.
fined while following „Yellow Vests“ sup- physical attacks (30), and attacks to equip-
porters during the French election night. On ment (19). Some of the most disturbing attacks on
24 April, a far-right supporter physically at- Greece press freedom in the country involved
tacked journalist Fany Boucaud from Radio Private individuals were the source of a vast makeshift bombs detonated in front of the
France Bleu Creuse. majority of the attacks during demonstra- 42 / USERS-BETWEEN-LINES 63 homes of journalists Aris Portosalte and
tions (47 attacks out of 60, 78.3%) followed Dimitris Kampourakis. In July, a major arson
One of the most striking examples of le- by police and state security (9 out of 60, Press freedom in Greece continued its attack on the headquarters of Real Media
gal incidents in the country concern three 15.0%). Journalists and media workers were marked deterioration in 2022 amid a sprawl- Group claimed by an anarchist group further
media outlets (Mediapart, Reflets, and ASI) regularly intimidated and insulted, their ing spyware scandal as well as several seri- underscored concerns about the physical
which received threats from the firm Avisa equipment hit, and they were physically as- ous criminal charges and violent attacks on safety of journalists.
26 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 27Several physical attacks towards journalists CEO of the Central Media Group in Hun- gal data management. Panyi was one of the reporting on a labour lawsuit involving a for-
by the Greek riot police were also recorded, gary, Zoltán Varga, was questioned by the people targeted with Pegasus by state in- mer government minister, Teresa Bellanova.
as well as by private individuals. The arrest National Tax and Customs Administration telligence services. New revelations about
and serious criminal charges against pho- (NAV) as part of an investigation into alleged monitoring of the press emerged in June, Attacks of private individuals towards jour-
tojournalist Nikos Pilos underscored further budget fraud, sparking concern over pres- when investigative media outlet Direkt36 nalists made up nearly half (40%, 18 alerts)
concern about police actions. The ability of sure on the owner of the largest remaining revealed that Hungarian diplomats working of the documented cases. Media personnel
journalists to access information from state independent news site, 24.hu. In April, Hun- in EU countries had been carrying out mon- were verbally abused, insulted, and threat-
authorities remained challenging, while gary’s Media Council initially blocked the itoring on the visits of Hungarian journalists ened online and in person for their report-
some of those reporting on sensitive topics frequency license renewal of independent to foreign media outlets abroad. ing on several occasions. Threats escalated
such as alleged pushbacks of migrants and station Tilos Rádió. However, the license into physical violence when in April a cam-
refugees faced serious online harassment. was eventually granted by the Fidesz-con- era operator of Rai2 was physically attacked
trolled regulator. Capture of media by vest- Italy by a local resident. In July, demonstrators
ed interests continues to lead to censorship physically attacked journalists in Rome and
Hungary 45 / USERS-BETWEEN-LINES 71 in October journalists of Canale 5 were as-
While physical attacks and threats against saulted and robbed while on assignment in
11 / USERS-BETWEEN-LINES 13 journalists in Hungary overall were rarely In Italy, verbal and physical attacks on Florence. In July, unidentified perpetrators
reported, a few serious cases were docu- journalists remained the most concerning set fire to a car owned by the partner of In-
Media freedom and pluralism in Hungary mented in 2022. In July, veteran Formula 1 threats to press freedom in 2022. MapMF formare H24 journalist Francesco Digiorgio,
remained highly challenging in 2022. While photographer Mark Thompson was assault- recorded a total of 45 cases involving 71 which the journalist believes was retaliation
MapMF recorded a total of 11 press freedom ed by a trackside security guard as he was attacked persons and entities related to for his reporting.
violations involving 13 targets, these alone working at the Hungarian Grand Prix. In Oc- the media. Anti-vaccine groups repeatedly
do not capture the wider and systemic chal- tober, reporter Márk Móna from Hungarian threatened journalists over their reporting Journalists reporting on the mafia and or-
lenges facing independent media. Over half private broadcaster Hír TV was pushed off a on the COVID-19 pandemic, and vandalised ganised crime continued to face death
(54.5%) of the documented cases were le- platform by a protester while he was speak- property and offices of several news out- threats and intimidation. In March, a letter
gal incidents (6 alerts). ing live from a protest in central Budapest. lets. Defamation lawsuits and SLAPPs also with death threats was addressed to jour-
In November, a far-right extremist website continued to pose major threats to media nalist Maria Bertone, director of the news-
The ruling Fidesz party of Prime Minister published an opinion piece which suggested freedom. papers Cronache di Napoli and Cronache di
Viktor Orbán has overseen a systematic that all journalists at one of Hungary’s lead- Caserta. It was allegedly sent on the order
erosion of media pluralism in Hungary over ing independent news platforms, 444.hu, After the outcome of the Italian elections in of Giovanni Cellulare, who is sentenced to
the last decade, and used pandemic restric- could easily be beaten to death. September, which led to the Italian far-right life in prison and believed to be affiliated
tions to hinder independent journalism. In party Fratelli d’Italia forming a governing with the Casalesi clan.
January, the Hungarian government passed In 2022, Hungary was criticised for the lack coalition, a number of Italian journalists re-
a decree which ensured journalists from in- of accountability for state surveillance of ceived serious death and rape threats. The Law enforcement confiscated journalists’
dependent news outlets could continue to Hungarian journalists. In March, Hungary’s daily newspaper Domani faced lawsuits phones and computers in two disturbing
be barred from reporting inside hospitals National Data Protection and Freedom of In- from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and a se- cases, possibly violating the confidential-
amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. formation Authority (NAIH) launched an in- rious legal threat by the new defence minis- ity between reporters and their sources.
vestigation into Direkt36 journalist Szabolcs ter, Guido Crosetto. In another major legal Reporting on sensitive issues such as the
Traditional media capture tools used by Panyi, claiming that he was illegally storing threat, in October a prosecutor in Lecce re- arrival of migrants and refugees from the
Fidesz to undermine independent media the telephone number of a secret service quested that three journalists be jailed for Mediterranean continued to be met with
continued. In November, the owner and officer and was therefore carrying out ille- six months in connection with their factual obstruction. In November, two Italian jour-
28 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 Mapping Media Freedom | Monitoring Report – 2022 29You can also read
