Ossigeno and information at risk. New data on threats to journalists

A focus on Lazio’s record and on journalists on Tuesday 22nd November from 10 to 13 in Rome and online at the seminar organized with the Lazio Order of Journalists

OSSIGENO November 17th 2022 – How many threats and intimidation have there been in Italy this year against journalists, bloggers, photojournalists, and video operators, aimed at preventing the publication of unwelcome news?

An increase on last year, indicate the latest data from the monitoring carried out by the non-governmental Observatory Ossigeno per l’Informazione. Since 2006 it has publicised over six thousand intimidations and threats, after submitting the information on each of these incidents to fact-checking based on its proven tracking method.
The statistics on the threats relating to the first six months of 2022 will be presented in Rome on the 22nd November, from 10:00 to 13:00, at the conference “Information at Risk. Where are we in Italy regarding threats to journalists? The case of Lazio”.

The seminar is promoted as part of the initiatives for the professional development of journalists, on the occasion of the UN World Day to end impunity for crimes against journalists (IDEI). It is organized by Ossigeno per l’Informazione in collaboration with the Order of Journalists of Lazio. It will take place in person, at the e-Campus University of Rome (via Matera 18, Aula Motta), and online on the Ossigeno YouTube channel, both live and recorded. Journalists registered through the training platform of the National Order of Professional Journalists will receive training credits.

This year Ossigeno has detected the threats to journalists in collaboration with UNESCO through the Global Media Defence Fund (GMDF) within the MAP project which provides support actions for journalists targeted and also legal assistance to those who suffer vexatious litigation and are not supported by a publisher to bear the legal costs. A particular focus will be dedicated to threatened female journalists. Another in-depth analysis will examine Lazio, the Italian region in which Ossigeno per l’Informazione in 2021 ascertained the highest number of serious attacks on journalists and bloggers. The data will be commented upon by Guido D’Ubaldo, president of the Lazio Journalists’ Order, and by Lazzaro Pappagallo, secretary of the Roman Press Association. The theme of the limitations imposed by the Cartabia decree on the presumption of innocence will be discussed with Eugenio Albamonte, assistant prosecutor in Rome.