Freedom of the media

In this report, Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, unpacks gendered disinformation - a phenomenon that, Khan argues, demands more clarity and research. The Special Rapporteur builds on her earlier reports on disinformation and gender inequality in freedom of expression, as well as her conversations with individuals who experienced online abuse and consultations with regional civil society representatives, governments, and companies. Defining and analyzing the concept of gendered disinformation, the Special Rapporteur turns to a feminist framework and applies an intersectional approach. The report stresses the “dual nature” of gendered disinformation, explaining it as “a strategy to silence women and gender-diverse voices” and noting it can be “a form of online gender-based violence in some situations.” Three more parts follow the phenomenon’s framing: “Survivors, harm, actors and vectors,” “Roles, responsibilities and responses: States,” and “Roles, responsibilities and responses: companies and civil society.” The report concludes with recommendations for states, social media companies, and other relevant actors.

“This study assesses the challenges, and the opportunities, for journalism today. It dovetails with the 2020 theme of World Press Freedom Day (“Journalism without Fear or Favour”), an annual calendar date that commemorates and celebrates the universal human right to expression in the public arena. Without press freedom, it is impossible to envisage editorial independence in the media, and without editorial independence as an essential enabler of professional standards, journalism cannot thrive. These are not “nice to haves”. Society depends on journalism for the vibrancy of democracy and informed responses to crises.  Without journalism, a huge gap exists in holding states accountable for realizing their commitment to achieving progress in the areas covered by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report provides a structured way of understanding the contemporary context of journalism in terms   of trends in editorial independence and professional standards. Each analysis constitutes the source of targeted recommendations at the end of the study. The report as a whole serve as a starting point for debate among and between governments, intergovernmental organizations, civil society, media actors, academics, internet   companies   and   other   stakeholders.   Such  discussions are key if independent journalism and its outputs are to persist and flourish as a matter of public good. The present report explores the above-mentioned themes and identifies relevant patterns and recent trends in how they have manifested themselves across the globe. It also seeks to give a sense of the responses from international and regional organizations, national governments, and other actors. While each of these three themes has its own distinctive dynamics and drivers, the interplay between them in relation to elections is particularly powerful.”

Resolution A/HRC/RES/12/16 on Freedom of opinion and expression. Adopted at the 12th Session.

"Diverse societies require space for inclusive and pluralistic interaction and debate. Media and information technologies can offer such spaces to allow different groups to interact with each other, explore their identities, and voice diverse perspectives without fear. This fosters dialogue and mutual understanding, strengthens societal integration and resilience, and reduces tensions. The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities offers guidance on how to create, nurture, and develop the role of the media and information technologies for conflict prevention."

The Special Rapporteurs identify the ten key challenges to freedom of expression in the next decade: Mechanisms of Government Control over the Media, Criminal Defamation, Violence Against Journalists, Limits on the Right to Information, Discrimination in the Enjoyment of the Right to Freedom of Expression, Commercial Pressures, Support for Public Service and Community Broadcasters, Security and Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Expression on the Internet, Access to Information and Communications Technologies.

Published by members of the South East European Network for Professionalization of Media, this report analyzes the state of media and democracy in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey. Based on the map of key indicators and corresponding data, the authors conclude, “as decidedly as ever,” that the region’s media are in a systemic crisis, manifesting in “how they are defined, regulated, owned, financed, and managed.” Among the many factors negatively impacting the media of the Western Balkans and Turkey are journalists’ exposure to pressure and attacks, SLAPPs, small numbers of journalism students, media ownership concentration, lack of transparency, limited representation, political instability, and authoritarianism.

“Media freedom has increasingly come under the spotlight in recent years. The threat to media freedom is often attributed to the recent rise of populist and authoritarian governments, with many world-leaders – including leaders of major democracies – increasingly seeming to view free media as an opponent, rather than a fundamental aspect of a free society. The knock-on effects of such actions can be grave, particularly given the important role that a free media plays in upholding democracy and democratic freedoms. Media freedom and pluralism are part of the rights and principles enshrined in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights and in the European Convention on Human Rights. As the coronavirus pandemic continues to have significant ramifications for public health, social welfare and the economy, the crisis also presents a significant threat to media freedom. Media freedom proponents have warned that governments across the world could use the coronavirus emergency as a pretext for the implementation of new, draconian restrictions on free expression, as well as to increase press censorship. In its 2020 World Press Freedom Index, RSF argues that certain governments have used the crisis to impose media restrictions that in ordinary times would be impossible. The Council of Europe (CoE) Platform for the Protection of Journalists has warned that the fresh assault on media freedom amid the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened an already gloomy media freedom outlook.” In this Briefing, the European Parliament discusses: “1) the current state of media freedom, 2) the impact of coronavirus on media freedom, 3) the wider implications of media freedom restrictions, and 4) EU action to protect and boost media freedom.”

“Around the world, disinformation is spreading and becoming a more complex phenomenon based on emerging techniques of deception. Disinformation undermines human rights and many elements of good quality democracy; but counter-disinformation measures can also have a prejudicial impact on human rights and democracy. COVID-19 compounds both these dynamics and has unleashed more intense waves of disinformation, allied to human rights and democracy setbacks. Effective responses to disinformation are needed at multiple levels, including formal laws and regulations, corporate measures and civil society action. While the EU has begun to tackle disinformation in its external actions, it has scope to place greater stress on the human rights dimension of this challenge. In doing so, the EU can draw upon best practice examples from around the world that tackle disinformation through a human rights lens. This study proposes steps the EU can take to build counter-disinformation more seamlessly into its global human rights and democracy policies.”

Gillwald examines the public sphere, contextualising it in terms of the debate between the liberalist school of thought and the Marxist school of thought. While the traditional liberalist position that locates the media “at the interface between the governors and governed”, the Marxist school characterises the media as bourgeoisie. Gillwald in elucidating on the shortcomings of both these notions, seeks to understand the public sphere in the sense of Habermas’ critical sphere. Through the debunking of certain misplaced assumptions with regard to the public sphere, she seeks to reconstruct the public sphere, thereby redefining the role of the media in a democracy.

“This guide was designed as a basic and synthetic input to help judges and legal practitioners across the Americas who must apply international (especially inter-American) standards that enshrine and protect the fundamental right to freedom of expression.” Available only in Spanish.