Journalists threatened, intimidated, reported, Ossigeno warns: too many attacks, information is at risk

ROME – In the dark democracy dies, says the historic slogan of Washington Post. And it couldn’t be more current, in times of fake news and battles for consensus, the reminder of the need for a careful look at world affairs. Without journalism, whatever the means by which it is expressed, no mechanism of political confrontation can function in an acceptable way. This is why the alarm is always worrying Oxygen for informationthe non-governmental Observatory which periodically takes stock of threats to journalists and violently obscured news.

Intimidation and threats. Association analysts indicate that in the first nine months of 2022, 173 incidents of intimidation and threats were detected against 564 media operators (i.e. journalists, bloggers, video operators). According to the data of Oxygen 29 percent of the affected operators are women, 36 percent affected by “gender-based” threats. The results recorded by the Observatory are very different from those provided last December 6 by the Ministry of the Interior. According to the Coordination Center on the phenomenon of intimidation against journalists of the Interior Ministry “there are 84 intimidating episodes committed in Italy in the first nine months of 2022 against journalists, compared to 162 recorded in the same period of 2021, with a decrease in 48 percent.”

A different view. Positive trend then? Not for Oxygen experts, who speak instead of a doubling of cases. Instead, the observatory explains the difference in vision first of all with the different criterion used: the association’s data also include lawsuits and defamation suits “promoted in a rash and instrumental way”, and violations of the right to information codified by the ‘Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In addition, they point out to Ossigeno, the most significant increase is that concerning intimidation lawsuits, which goes hand in hand with a decrease in complaints to the authorities.

The increase in reckless lawsuits. Explains Alberto Spampinato, director of Ossigeno per l’Informazione: “In particular, the share of intimidation and threats carried out through specious or unfounded lawsuits and libel suits, the result of anachronistic and unjust legislation, has increased”. According to Spampinato, this increase shows the Italian side of that “misuse of the judicial system” denounced by UNESCO in a recently published study. The attention to the issue of undue pressure on the press was also manifested in the words of the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres himself, who urged governments “to immediately release journalists detained only because of the exercise of their profession”, which in 2020 were 294.

The need for a law. In Italy, the frequency of reckless lawsuits has increased, so much so that it is also considered with concern by the journalists’ union, which is asking for an ad hoc law. In the meantime, the Roman Press Association has prepared an ad hoc webinar for its members, which also includes a “decalogue to defend oneself against lawsuits”. “These intimidations and threats”, adds the director of the Observatory, “have increased in proportion to the others, ie those which have manifested themselves with attacks, warnings, and other violent methods. This last aspect makes the Italian situation even more worrying”.

Trust in complaints. Alberto Spampinato goes further in analyzing the situation and proposes disturbing questions: “The figures from the Interior Ministry do not say that there have been fewer threats to journalists. They literally say that fewer journalists reported threats against them this year. This means that Italian journalists report threats less often than before. Because? Do they have less faith in the interventions of the authorities, or are they more resigned or are they simply more afraid than before and therefore suffer more often without reacting?” The director of Ossigeno promises an in-depth analysis on this aspect, but adds: “It can be said that the decrease in threats recorded by the Interior Ministry is not good news, it is not a reassuring sign. Indeed, it is a further alarm signal”.