Harassment of Journalists in Western Europe

By: Hugo Tai
Feb 22, 2022


In a democracy, it is crucial that journalists can report safely. The red dots in this week’s graph reveal that journalists in Europe, especially Germany and Austria, are facing significant increases in harassments.

Aggressions against journalists during anti-covid measures demonstrations are particularly alarming. In Germany, planning attacks and exchanging information about journalists online are on the rise and reported attacks more than doubled in 2020. Reporters got surrounded and verbally abused by “lying press” shouts in Austria also reflect the trust crisis in the news in recent years. The rising violations against journalists in some countries in Western Europe put its reputation as a global leader in press journalism at risk.