The Europe Press Freedom Report 2024, published by the Council of Europe, highlights persistent threats to media freedom across Europe, with Serbia and Turkey among the worst-performing countries. The report recorded 226 alerts on the CoE’s Platform for journalist protection, with Turkey registering 28 alerts and Serbia 20. The most common threats were attacks on journalists’ physical safety (78 alerts), harassment and intimidation (77), and detention and imprisonment (51). The report identified detention and imprisonment as a tool of censorship, with Turkey listed among the worst jailers of journalists, holding 27 in detention by the end of 2024. The report also warned of media capture in Turkey, Hungary, and Russia, serving as models for other governments. It raised concerns over disinformation and AI-generated propaganda, citing a deep fake campaign against Serbian journalist Stevan Dojčinović as an example of extreme online harassment targeting independent journalism. Read more here.
