The informal OSCE Group of Friends on Safety of Journalists underlines the need to address the threats posed by the spread of disinformation and misinformation to the safety of journalists
On 22 February 2022 in Vienna, at the Human Dimension Committee of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) the informal OSCE Group of Friends on Safety of Journalists, composed of 16 participating States, including Lithuania, highlighted the need to respond to the challenges posed by the disinformation and misinformation to the safety of journalists, and the trust in media as a whole.
In a delivered Joint Statement the informal Group of Friends underlined that the treat to the safety of journalists is real. Journalists are faced by the complexity of challenges, from the rapidly spreading disinformation, misinformation and distortions of facts, to discretisation of independent and trustworthy media and reputation of journalists. Verbal attacks and outright crimes against journalists, especially women journalists, are multiplying in digital sphere and increasingly are associated with physical attacks.
In its statement states participating in this Group of Friends shared their best practices to address these challenges, inter alia, by developing national action plans on safety of journalists, creating specialised units at public prosecutors to investigate online crimes, tightening of anti-stalking laws, initiating various campaigns to raise public awareness and to strengthen civic resilience against disinformation and misinformation.
The statement delivered on behalf of the informal OSCE Group of Friends on Safety of Journalists can be read here.
