EFJ: Online attacks on journalists in Europe are escalating, with the Balkans among the most affected.

The research covered all countries where the EFJ operates and is based on a survey among unions, interviews, and workshops held at the beginning of the year.

According to the findings, more than 60 percent of journalism organizations report an increase in digital attacks, while 40 percent face their normalization, as if they are part of the usual professional risk, with women and minority groups being the most common targets.

The report emphasizes that cases from Serbia, the years-long campaigns against journalists Dinko Gruhonjić and Ana Lalić Hegediš, "reflect a much broader phenomenon of coordinated attacks" that often spill over from the digital realm into physical life.

It is stated that in Serbia, 41 percent of attacked journalists have experienced some form of online impersonation or false representation, including "deepfake" content.

EFJ President Maja Sever warned that this problem can no longer be viewed as isolated or sporadic.

“At the center of every online threat is a real person whose life, safety, and dignity are at risk. This is not happening in some parallel world. When you close your laptop, the consequences do not disappear. It is our duty to stand by journalists who endure these attacks every day,” said Maja Sever.

The Program Director of the Independent Journalists' Association of Vojvodina (NDNV), journalist from Beta agency, and university professor Dinko Gruhonjić stated that attacks rarely stop at just the internet.

“From one fake video, an avalanche of threats began against me and my family. I never believed that loyalty to professional principles, truth, and justice would lead to me fearing for my life in my own country,” said Gruhonjić.

NDNV President Ana Lalić Hegediš, a journalist who has been under the fire of a misogynistic campaign for years, stated that the attacks occur continuously.

“That has been my average day for years: messages, insults, sexualized threats. At one point, it becomes clear that the goal is no longer to silence you, but to destroy you,” she said.

The General Secretary of the Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia Tamara Filipović Stevanović assessed that institutions in Serbia do not provide adequate protection.

“The police and the prosecution often minimize online threats, even though we know how quickly digital attacks transition into physical ones. We still believe that every case must be reported without exception, but without a systemic response, the state fosters impunity,” stated Tamara Filipović Stevanović.

The Executive Director of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) Getoarbe Mulići highlighted the gender dimension of these attacks.

“Women journalists in the region receive threats of rape, sexualized deepfake videos, and attacks on their families. This is not just an attack on an individual; it is an attempt to push women out of the public sphere,” said Getoarbe Mulići.

EFJ stated that in 95 percent of reported cases, the attacks have a political or ideological background, and are often amplified through bot networks and polarized groups.

The report documents examples of such targeting in Slovakia, Croatia, Spain, and also in Western European countries.

EFJ has demanded that governments train police and prosecutors to recognize digital violence, recommended that media outlets implement internal security protocols, and urged social media platforms to establish emergency channels for journalists and transparent risk assessments.

The full report can be downloaded at this link.

Source: NDNV