The fight against disinformation: A proposal for regulation from Spain Published: 7 June 2021 Commentary The book #FakeYou shows that public and legislative policies used in the fight against disinformation, which have been pursued both in Spain and in other countries because of (or rather, with the excuse of) the so-called “new” phenomenon of fake news, often actually serve to distract from the real solution. Simona Levi
State and corporate capture of the media threaten the quality of democracy in Greece Published: 7 June 2021 Commentary The unsavoury link between oligarchs, the banking sector, the media and politics is what characterizes, in a nutshell, the state of the Greek media landscape. The prolonged financial crisis has had a decisive role in further hampering media freedom in the country, posing a real threat to the quality of democracy in Greece. Stefanos Loukopoulos
Disinformation in Hungary: From fabricated news to discriminatory legislation Published: 7 June 2021 Commentary Recently, the Hungarian ruling party and its media empire launched a massive campaign against independent policy analysts and opposition parties, accusing them of spreading anti-vaccination views. These campaigns follow a typical method of operation: they start from a single piece of information and end in some sort of discriminatory legislation against independent voices. Patrik Szicherle, Péter Krekó
Publicly funded hate in Slovenia: A blueprint for disaster Published: 7 June 2021 Commentary When discussing the issue of hate speech in the digital age, we often put the blame on content intermediaries such as Facebook or Twitter. But what happens when hateful speech in the form of party propaganda is indirectly or directly funded by the state, using public money? Domen Savič
Three reasons why the Polish government’s war on human freedoms is also your problem Published: 3 June 2021 Commentary Modern-day authoritarians will boil you like a frog, whilst slowly turning up the heat. As a citizen of a democratic state, governed by the rule of law, you won’t suddenly wake up one day to find yourself in an authoritarian regime. It will creep up on you. Hiding behind empty slogans such as “regaining national sovereignty” and “national pride”. Eliza Rutynowska
Biden's climate summit brings some ambition boost but no true U.S. climate leadership Published: 3 May 2021 Analysis With the two-day Biden leaders' summit on climate attended by 40 countries, the United States has returned to the international stage of climate diplomacy. Whether the increased ambition of new climate action pledges via video made by several core countries can be implemented in a binding manner, however, remains an open question - not only, but also including in the United States. An urgently needed signal that the Biden administration is prepared to take on a leadership role in international climate finance in the run-up to COP 26, however, was missing in action. Liane Schalatek
The Istanbul Convention: Our Struggle for Equality Published: 3 May 2021 Article In the middle of the night on March 20, 2021, a presidential decree was published in the Official Gazette, announcing Turkey would withdraw from the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention. Berfu Şeker
Anti-Western propaganda against civil society in North Macedonia: The case of CIVIL Published: 3 May 2021 Commentary In North Macedonia, it has become the norm for pro-Russian politicians to attack activists, human rights defenders and journalists with outrageous online behaviour, bullying and threats to our lives. My case, as the President of the human rights organisation CIVIL, is not an exception, but certainly is one of the most illustrative ones. Xhabir Deralla
Four reasons why Gender Studies has changed because of illiberal attacks, and why it matters Published: 3 May 2021 Commentary Systematic and systemic attacks on Gender Studies are part of anti-gender campaigns and online public harassment, associated with the anti-gender movement, a nationalist, neoconservative response to the triple crisis (migration, financial and security). These illiberal attacks are gaining much support all over Europe. Andrea Pető
The 7 reasons why nuclear energy is not the answer to solve climate change Published: 26 April 2021 Analysis New nuclear power costs about 5 times more than onshore wind power per kWh. Nuclear takes 5 to 17 years longer between planning and operation and produces on average 23 times the emissions per unit electricity generated. In addition, it creates risk and cost associated with weapons proliferation, meltdown, mining lung cancer, and waste risks. Clean, renewables avoid all such risks. Mark Z. Jacobson