Thank you to everyone who stopped by - and to our fellow Hub participants, including CPJ pressfreedom.bsky.social, rorypecktrust.bsky.social, IWMF and Acos Alliance.
Here's to the Hub becoming a fixture at IJF for years to come! 🤞 #IJF26
The Hub was a dedicated space for journalists, editors & news managers to connect with safety experts on everything from legal protection and digital security to physical safety, online harassment and burnout.
🧵 We're back from the International Journalism Festival in Perugia! This year, IJF hosted a Safety Hub for the very first time. We were proud to be part of it. #IJF26
In this month's newsletter, we bring you a recording of our International Women's History Month with a live discussion, two interviews with top media lawyers in Albania and Georgia, our 2025 journalists' survey report and much more. Sign up here: https://bit.ly/3OAT12W
Vague defamation suits, device seizures, economic pressure, and the slow criminalisation of source contact: in our latest article, we speak with lawyer Dorian Matlija of Res Publica on what defending journalists in Albania looks like. Full interview: https://bit.ly/3Qj48y2
We're excited to be in Perugia this week for the International Journalism Festival (#IJF26)!
You can find us at the IJF26 Safety Hub at Centro Alessi (Via Danzetta entrance), open daily from 15–18 April.
Drop by the Hub or get in touch at communications@mediadefence.org.
Last week we published our 2025 Journalist Impact Survey. Here's what the journalists we supported told us:
95% carried on reporting. Even from exile.
52% said we were the only way they could afford a lawyer.
100% expect to be taken to court again.
Now available in EN | ES | FR 👇
bit.ly/4tAdRy4
🚨 Update: we have extended the application deadline for our Europe litigation surgery in Budapest to 15 April 2026 — don't miss this opportunity!
👉 Apply now: www.mediadefence.org/news/call-fo...
Two years since #Georgia's foreign influence law came into force. Journalists beaten, arrested, denied entry. A new FARA law criminalising cooperation with foreign orgs.
In our latest Press Freedom Advocates piece, we speak with lawyer, Saba Sutidze about the crackdown.
🔗https://bit.ly/41TNWFP
⏳ Deadline Tomorrow! If you're a lawyer working on freedom of expression in Europe, don't miss this opportunity!
📍 Budapest, Hungary
📅 8–11 June
We are hosting an in-person litigation surgery for up to 12 legal practitioners from across Europe.
👉 Apply here: www.mediadefence.org/news/call-fo...
Each year we ask some of the journalists we've supported to share their experiences. Their feedback shapes how we work.
This year, 23 journalists from 14 countries responded. 95% have continued reporting since their case closed.
We are grateful to everyone who took part. 👉 bit.ly/4vjdkCC
As Women's History Month comes to an end, today we go live on Instagram with Neha Dixit, @julianadalpiva.bsky.social and Emilia Șercan.
🕐 16:00 RO / 14:00 UK / 11:00 BR / 10:00 ET
Click here to join at the time of the event: bit.ly/4d9upZ3
#WomenInvestigatingPower
🚨 Call for Applications: Europe Litigation Surgery
📍 Budapest
📅 8–11 June 2026
⏳ Deadline: 8 April
For lawyers in Europe working on #FreedomOfExpression ⚖️
✔️ Expert-led sessions
✔️ Case-based learning
✔️ Travel & accommodation covered
Apply now 👉 www.mediadefence.org/news/call-fo...
More women reporting means more voices heard.
This International Women's History Month, join us live on Instagram on 27 March for a cross-regional conversation on #womeninvestigatingpower
Sign up here to get reminders and link straight to your inbox: bit.ly/3Nqqexv
Don’t miss the live discussion. Sign up and we’ll send the link straight to your inbox before we go live.
No searching. No account needed. Just click and watch.
🔔 Get your reminder: mailchi.mp/mediadefence...
📅 27 March | 🕑 2pm GMT
Read more here: www.mediadefence.org/news/live-di...
Join the conversation.
📅 27 March
🕑 2pm GMT |
🔴 Instagram Live
🔔 Set a reminder:
instagram.com/mediadefence...
📢 On 27 March, we’re hosting an Instagram Live with:
🎙️Emilia Şercan
🎙️Neha Dixit
@nehadixit7.bsky.social
🎙️Juliana Dal Piva
@julianadalpiva.bsky.social
From lawsuits to online abuse, the backlash for their work has been unrelenting. Yet they continue investigating and fighting back.👇
This #WomensHistoryMonth, we’re sitting down with 3 journalists facing retaliation for investigating power at the highest levels. From plagiarism scandals and political corruption to trafficking networks, their reporting has revealed truths many would prefer to keep hidden. 🧵👇
148 journalists detained, SLAPPs silencing investigative reporting, targeted drone attacks, and transnational repression on the rise: the 2025 Europe Press Freedom Report by Council of Europe Media Freedom shows journalism in Europe is at a tipping point: https://bit.ly/46O25re
73% of women journalists say they have experienced online violence related to their work. And increasingly, that violence does not stay online.Yet women journalists continue holding powerful actors to account.
📅 Stayed tuned for info about our Instagram Live on 27 Mar.
#WomenInvestigatingPower
The dangers of SLAPPs: Media Defence has filed two interventions at the ECtHR in Meskhidze v. Georgia and Paučinac v. Serbia, raising urgent questions about the misuse of legal proceedings to silence public interest speech.
🔗 Read the full submissions: www.mediadefence.org/news/media-d...
This month, we talk to women journalists who have investigated power at the highest levels and faced serious retaliation, from legal threats to coordinated smear campaigns.
Yet they continue reporting and fighting back.
Follow along to hear their stories.
#WomenInvestigatingPower #IWHM #IWD
Closing out #UKMediaFreedomForum, our CEO, Carlos Gaio, joins fellow experts on the final panel reflecting on key takeaways and charting the path ahead for media freedom resilience
🟡 Workshops starting at 12:00 | #UKMFF26
Parallel sessions:
#SLAPP First Aid Kit
Samantha Thompson & Thomas Otter (RPC)
Using FOI to Investigate Power
Jenna Corderoy & @tbij.bsky.social
SLAPP Risks for Students
@nikwilliams.bsky.social, Gill Phillips & @mediadefence.bsky.social
Day 2 at #UKMediaFreedomForum 2026 - how can we fight misinformation in the age of AI and amid global instability?
Join our CEO Carlos Gaio for a workshop on SLAPP risks for student journalists at 12:00 and hear him on a panel on resilience mechanisms at 15:50.
Come find us!
Find us at our booth later today
📍Media Freedom Fair - City, St George’s University of London
🕣17 - 18:30
Repressive actors are broadening the tools they use to silence dissent across borders.
The opening panel at the #UKMediaFreedomForum brought together journalists, lawyers, and press freedom advocates to discuss the implications for free expression worldwide.
Following the release of Guatemalan investigative journalist José Rubén Zamora, Media Defence spoke to his lawyer, Héctor Reyes, about his still precarious legal situation. Learn more about his case https://bit.ly/4csaDaL
Watch "The General", Laura Brickman's documentary on the rise of Tô Lâm and Vietnam's surveillance and crackdown on human rights. Media Defence's Wiebke Hangst moderates a panel with exiled lawyer Nguyễn Văn Đài and journalist Lê Trung Khoa.
Taz Kantine, Berlin | 6 PM | Free - registration required
We’ll be at Ladbroke Hall to celebrate the Marie Colvin Journalists' Network's 10th anniversary, support their work with women journalists in the MENA region and honour the legacy of Marie Colvin. If you’ll be there, let’s connect! https://bit.ly/3ONt27X
