Survey finds that 90% of fact-checking outlets in Europe have been the target of online harassment and smear campaigns.
This statement was originally published on ipi.media on 7 June 2023.
Faktograf, a Croatian fact-checking outlet, releases the final analysis of a pioneering survey on the impact of online harassment against fact-checkers in Europe. The survey is a part of the International Press Institute (IPI)-led Decoding the Disinformation Playbook project, in partnership with Faktograf and German daily TAZ.
The preliminary results published last April 2 showed that 9 out 10 fact-checking outlets in Europe were targeted with online harassment and smear campaigns. An alarmingly high number – 7 out of 10 – of respondents that experienced online harassment were subjected to campaigns which include prolonged and/or coordinated behavior like stalking, smear campaigns, hate speech, “doxing” or gender-based online violence, among others. These attacks go unpunished and uninvestigated, creating a sense of impunity among purveyors of disinformation.
The survey collected experiences from 41 fact-checking outlets run by 40 organisations, which come from 28 European countries.
Disinformation is one of the main tactics used to harass fact-checkers, who often find themselves targeted by conspiracy theories and similar narratives aiming to present fact-checking as harmful, or even as a criminal activity. SLAPP lawsuits are also being increasingly used to produce a chilling effect on the “first responders” in the fight against disinformation.
It is, therefore, necessary to recognize that the intention behind these various forms of harassment is not just to discredit individual fact-checking outlets, but also general efforts against disinformation.
Following an in-depth analysis on the data, we launch today a series of recommendations to platforms, authorities and newsrooms themselves to tackle this phenomenon:
- The majority of harassment takes place predominantly on social networks. In this regard, very large online platforms should:
- Create or improve existing mechanisms to protect specific groups like fact-checkers and other journalists dealing with disinformation.
- Cooperate with professional fact-checkers and other relevant stakeholders to curb disinformation on all platforms.
- Improve moderation of dangerous content to protect all users in all languages.
- Fact-checkers tend not to report these attacks to the authorities due to a lack of confidence that their claims will be investigated. Therefore, political actors and legislators should:
- Develop a regulatory framework to enhance media freedoms and to protect journalists, other media workers and their families from intrusive and abusive practices.
- Promote media pluralism, freedom of information and professional journalism and integrity as democratic values by consistently recognising the value of fact-checking.
- Refrain from inciting disinformation which could encourage aggressive behavior against fact-checkers and journalists in general.
- Political actors should condemn disinformation and hate speech, regardless of which part of the political spectrum it originates from, especially around periods of intense political activity such as elections.
- Law enforcement and institutions should take all harassment seriously, especially if it includes breaches of privacy (doxing) and develop protocols for rapid response to effectively investigate and prosecute harassment.
- Finally, news organisations, journalists and media associations also have an important role to play by showing solidarity with fact-checkers and other journalists under attack and by covering these cases journalistically, including by helping to uncover the sources of disinformation and their motives.
The survey, “Harassment of fact-checking media outlets in Europe”, was conducted by Tijana Cvjetićanin and carried out as part of the Decoding the Disinformation Playbook of Populism in Europe project. This project is led by the International Press Institute (IPI) and run in partnership with Faktograf and the German daily Taz, and funded by the European Media and Information Fund managed by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
