Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR)

We stand in solidarity with the journalists affected by the recent dismissals at @CityNews_it in Italy. Sustainable working conditions and fair salaries are essential to safety in the media sector. Amid growing media capture and financial pressure, workers must not pay the price.

Italy’s media freedom climate is worsening. After its 9–10 March mission to Rome, MFRR warns of ongoing erosion driven by political pressure on RAI, spyware attacks on journalists, weak anti-SLAPP reform, legal harassment, and threats to pluralism. mfrr.eu/italy-mfrr-fla…

Gruppo Gedi, il report di Mfrr: “Trasparenza su occupazione e pluralismo nell’operazione di vendita” repubblica.it/economia/2026/…

⚡ Starting at 11:45 CET today, MFRR will present the findings of its media freedom mission to #Italy at a press conference. With concerns mounting over RAI, surveillance, and SLAPPs, weunderscore the urgency of protecting media pluralism in Italy. mfrr.eu/italy-mfrr-to-…

Our joint mission to Türkiye concludes that independent journalism is under systemic siege: 100 lawfare cases, digital shutdowns, economic pressure, and impunity for violence against the press. Read the full report 👇 mfrr.eu/systemic-siege…

Yesterday on #IWD, we warned that gender-based violence is increasingly used against women journalists in Europe. In 2025, we documented 53 cases: online abuse, sexual threats, smear campaigns, AI-enabled harassment. Women journalists must be protected. mfrr.eu/gender-based-v…

The MFRR mission to #Italy kicks off today in Rome: mfrr.eu/italy-mfrr-to-… Over 9–10 March, partners will assess key threats to press freedom, including political interference in RAI, surveillance, legal harassment, media concentration, and anti-SLAPP reform.

On #IWD, we stand with women journalists and demand accountability for gender-based attacks. Do not ignore the violations. Call them out. Protect those at risk. Press freedom can’t exist while women are systematically targeted for doing their jobs.

Attacks don’t stop with the journalist. Female relatives — wives, daughters, sisters, mothers — are also targeted when attackers go after families, often through verbal abuse, including death and rape threats.

#IWD is a moment to celebrate women journalists, and to name the dangers they face. In 2025, we recorded 438 attacks against women journalists in Europe: mapmf.org/explorer?f.eu_… Gender-based attacks against women journalists are rising — with 53 gender-based alerts in 2025.

Vladyslav Yesypenko spent more than four years in a Russian prison after being detained by Russia’s FSB in occupied Crimea. In this MFRR interview he recounts staged “evidence” and torture used to force a confession: youtube.com/watch?v=8JO04X…

🔐 Four executives from spyware firm Intellexa convicted by Greek court for illegally surveilling journalist Thanasis Koukakis with #Predator spyware. First-ever criminal conviction of spyware operators targeting a journalist worldwide. mfrr.eu/greece-executi…

Press freedom in Italy remains under pressure. From attacks and lawsuits to spyware scandals, the risks are real. The MFRR will be in Rome next week to assess the situation and advocate for concrete reforms: mfrr.eu/italy-mfrr-to-… Preliminary findings: 10 March.

"It hurt me to see Crimea occupied." Vladyslav spent 4 years in a Russian prison after being detained in occupied Crimea. In this MFRR interview, he describes how repression in Crimea works: disappearances, fabricated cases, and punishment for reporting: youtu.be/8JO04XD8Kv8

🔐 The MFRR consortium is at the European Parliament today for a critical discussion on encryption and press freedom. Journalist safety depends on it.

Behind every press freedom statistic is a person making daily risk calculations. Join this Voices Festival “Living Stories” session with journalists sharing real experiences of pressure, threats, and resilience: voicesfestival.eu/conference-eve… 11 March, 12:00.