Media freedom ‘under sustained attack’ across EU as public trust drops, report finds
Media freedom in the EU is under sustained threat due to rising attacks on journalists, increasing concentration of media ownership, political interference in public broadcasting, and declining public trust, according to a report by Liberties. The report highlights a surge in physical violence, online harassment, and strategic lawsuits against journalists, particularly in Italy, Hungary, and Malta. Public service media face budget cuts and political control, while key EU media protections remain poorly implemented. The situation is described as a crisis point for press freedom and democratic integrity.
- ▪The Liberties report recorded 118 attacks against journalists in Italy in 2025, including 15 cases of physical violence, with 20 journalists under police protection.
- ▪In Hungary, pro-Viktor Orbán entities control a majority of media outlets, and state-aligned media received 73% of election airtime before the April 2026 vote.
- ▪Journalists across the EU faced a record 377 serious online attacks in 2025, including death threats, while state surveillance targeted investigative reporters in Italy and Romania.
- ▪Strategic lawsuits (SLAPPs) continue to threaten press freedom despite the EU's anti-SLAPP directive, which has not been effectively implemented in several member states.
- ▪Only three of 22 EU countries surveyed—Germany, Ireland, and one other—reported relatively high public trust in media, while trust is critically low in Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria.
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Viktor Orbán with supporters at Hungary’s election this year. The report cites Hungary as a key example of concentrated ownership that can capture political media. Photograph: Bernadett Szabó/ReutersView image in fullscreenViktor Orbán with supporters at Hungary’s election this year. The report cites Hungary as a key example of concentrated ownership that can capture political media. Photograph: Bernadett Szabó/ReutersJournalist safetyMedia freedom ‘under sustained attack’ across EU as public trust drops, report findsJournalists face rising threats while media ownership is concentrated in fewer hands, leading civil liberties group warnsJon Henley Europe correspondentTue 28 Apr 2026 01.00 EDTLast modified on Tue 28 Apr 2026 01.01 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleJournalists in the EU face increasing levels of harassment, threats and violence, while news outlets are owned by a shrinking number of proprietors and public trust in the media has plummeted, a report has found.The Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) said the findings of its fifth annual media freedom report, released on Tuesday, should place EU officials “on high alert”, with media freedom and pluralism “under sustained attack” across mainland Europe.Europe’s leading civil liberties group also warned public media independence was being steadily eroded by political interference and budget cuts, and journalists were being increasingly hampered by restrictions on free expression and access to information.“A healthy, pluralistic media system is a litmus test and mirror of democracy,” said Eva Simon, Liberties’ senior advocacy officer. “Where the rule of law weakens – through deliberate government action or neglect – media freedom is undermined.”Journalist safety in particular reached what the report called “a crisis point” in Europe in 2025, with reporters and media workers facing “extreme physical violence and systemic legal harassment”, including bomb attacks targeting investigative reporters.In Athens, a device containing fivekg of TNT was thrown at the Athens home of Yannis Pretenteris, the editor of the weekly newspaper To Vima. In Italy, a device exploded under the car of Sigfrido Ranucci, a leading investigative journalist.In total, 118 attacks against journalists were recorded in Italy last year, 15 of them involving physical violence. Twenty Italian journalists – mainly investigating organised crime – live under police protection, the highest number in Europe.Can Europe’s public service media survive attacks by the far right?Read moreThe Netherlands recorded an increase in attacks on journalists for the third year in a row last year, with 106 threats, 67 incidents of intimidation and 55 cases of physical violence.Online harassment also grew. A record 377 serious online attacks, including death threats, targeted journalists in 2025, while in Malta, Hungary and Romania, politicians launched smear campaigns labelling news outlets “forces of darkness” or “foreign propaganda machines”, the report found.State surveillance of journalists, such as Francesco Cancellato and Ciro Pellegrino of the investigative outlet Fanpage in Italy and Victor Ilie and Luiza Vasiliu in Romania, was an issue in several countries, while abusive lawsuits remained a growing threat, it said.Slapps, or strategic lawsuits against public participation, are still being widely used to silence journalists and media outlets despite the existence of an EU anti-Slapp directive that has yet to be…
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