La verità è la prima vittima della guerra? Come difendere il giornalismo libero in Ucraina

The panel will focus on the challenges of protecting free speech when one’s country is at war. Two years into the Russian war, the state of free speech in Ukraine has worsened. As noted by a local watchdog recording the violations of media freedoms, in 2023 journalists working in Ukraine suffered from violations by Ukrainian actors as often as by the Russian military – a drastic change from 2022, when Russian attacks were the bigger danger to journalists. Limited accountability of authorities, extremities of martial law, self-censorship, attacks for unfavorable coverage – altogether they constitute a tremendous threat to local journalism, in addition to the actual hostilities.

Panelists will provide examples from their experiences: compromises they’ve made or rejected, threats they’ve faced, and how they defend journalistic independence in the time of war and state censorship.

Organised in association with The Kyiv Independent.