The fight against disinformation is necessary in the face of the pandemic, admitted the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, on Friday 3 April. "Regrettably some governments are using this imperative as a pretext to introduce disproportionate restrictions to press freedom", she said. In her view, this approach must stop, as it "hampers the work of the media" and "restricts" the right to information.
The following examples are cited: - the Russian Federation and Hungary, where "journalists covering the pandemic face sanction including up to 5 years in prison for spreading 'false information'"; - Azerbaijan, where recent amendments oblige platforms to block the dissemination of "harmful information" online; - Romania, where a decree allows the authorities to remove content and block sites in the event of "false information", all without the possibility of appeal; - Bosnia and Herzegovina, where decrees and legislative proposals sanctioning "the circulation of information that may cause panic" may "limit the work of journalists and freedom of expression on social media"; - and Armenia, where newspapers and Internet sites have had to "delete some information, following the adoption of strict rules prohibiting the publication of information of a medical and epidemiological nature about the virus outbreak which is not fully consistent with official sources".
In the Czech Republic, Serbia and Italy, journalists were prevented from obtaining information from health authorities or documenting law enforcement operations.
In Turkey, journalists were arrested after reporting on the pandemic and in Slovenia, a journalist was subjected to a smear campaign by media outlets close to the ruling coalition after seeking information about measures adopted by the government. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)