Just over a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began and there have been some 620 recorded press freedom violations globally.
This is according to data collected by the International Press Institute via their COVID-19 Press Freedom Tracker. Some 34% of the reports lodged on the platform where verbal and physical attacks on journalists while 33.5% were regarding the arrest of journalists or charges filed against them by governments. The remaining 14% related to restrictions on access to information.
“An alarming number of physical and verbal attacks on journalists were recorded in Europe. A total 106 cases of attacks have been registered, of which more than 80 percent were by members of the public.,” the IPI said.
Globally, Europe led the way in terms of the number of verbal and physical attacks against journalists.
“A recent IPI briefing on Europe lists Hungary, Romania, Spain, Turkey, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina as countries where new emergency restrictions or limitations on access to information threatened to impede media freedom,” the report added.
Also in Europe, the majority of attacks came from members of the public and were verbal, followed by physical attacks by members of the public. 8.49% of attacks were online or smear campaigns, and 6.6% were from authorities.
In terms of censorship, many states imposed excessive measures that prevented the media from reporting on the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, and shortcomings from officials. In Europe, website banning, take down orders,and forced deletion was common, while forced closure of media did occur, it wasn’t as widespread.
The report found that journalists were regularly denied access to press briefings and regulations were put in place to make journalists report information and statistics from the state. Other jurisdictions enforced new laws to clamp down on so-called “fake news” or spreading false information.
The IPI noted that its platform was unable to capture every attack, it clearly illustrated the impact the pandemic had on journalism around the world.
Albania featured in ** violations in the year since the beginning of the pandemic.
These included the closure and fine against ORA News for alleged breach of social distancing rules, threats to an ORA News journalist by an employee of Salillari, and the infamous voice message Prime Minister Edi Rama sent to all Vodafone users advising people to wash their hands against COVID-19 and “protect themselves from the media”.
