Accents

The number of journalists jailed around the world set yet another record in 2022. In a year marked by conflict and repression, authoritarian leaders doubled down on their criminalization of independent reporting, deploying increasing cruelty to stifle dissenting voices and undermine press freedom. 

As of today, the Belarusian authorities hold 31 journalists behind bars. BAJ got in touch with relatives, friends, and colleagues of most imprisoned journalists and collected the latest news from them.

Belarus is one of the most difficult countries in Europe for independent journalists to work in. Since the rigged presidential election in 2020, the journalists have been a target for the regime and at least 300 journalists have been forced into exile. Now they are struggling to cover the news in their homeland from a distance.

The Slovakia-based media-monitoring organization MEMO 98 has launched monitoring of Russian Federation state TV channels First Channel, Russia 1, Russia 24, NTV, online sources Smotrim.ru, gazeta.ru, news agencies Ria Novosti, Interfax, RBC, newspapers Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Argumenty i Fakty and independent international media to evaluate how those news outlets are covering the war in Ukraine and anti-war/peace protests. What does state media propaganda tell Russians about these topics, and how does it compare to the portrayal by independent media outside the country?