MFRR Monitoring Report – 756 media freedom alerts in first six months of 2024
The partners from the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium today publish the latest edition of its Monitoring Report which documents and analyses all press freedom violations recorded on its platform Mapping Media Freedom from January to June 2024.
The report was produced by the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), and the International Press Institute (IPI).
The latest Monitoring Report explores in detail the 756 media freedom violations recorded by the MFRR partners in the first half of 2024. These violations affected 1,212 media-related persons or entities. 474 of these alerts were recorded in EU Member States while 282 took place in candidate countries.
As well as providing a general overview of media freedom violations across EU Member States and candidate countries, the report includes three thematic chapters delving into anti-media laws, spoofing, and elections. The report also includes a deep dive into the state of media freedom – as told through Mapping Media Freedom data – in the following countries: Albania, Croatia, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
Key findings:
- 756 media freedom violations were recorded, involving 1,212 media-related persons or entities.
- 474 alerts took place in Member States with the remaining 282 occurring in candidate countries.
- Intimidation and threatening were the most common forms of violations, totalling 136 of all violations.
- The MFRR recorded 100 physical attacks, 47 of which resulted in injury.
- The second most common form of violation involved blocking journalistic activity, making up 117 alerts.
- 143 violations were perpetrated by government and public officials, marking a worrying trend.
- 24.6% of alerts took place online, making it the most common context in which media freedom violations took place
This Monitoring Report is part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), an Europe-wide mechanism, which tracks, monitors and responds to violations of press and media freedom in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. The project is co-funded by the European Commission.
