Meloni vs. the Italian press

Italy’s Giorgia Meloni has a problem with the domestic press.

As warnings from European Union institutions and watchdogs on the health of Italy’s media environment mount, the Italian prime minister has dug in her heels, insisting there is no problem with press freedom. Rather, she says journalists who say there is media crackdown are manipulating the truth.

Both sides have been fighting over the EU executive’s annual Rule of Law report, which found that the country’s independent media was under threat. After its publication, Meloni hit back with a letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, claiming her team had fallen for “fake news.”

The Italian leader later attributed the report’s critical remarks to three mainstream left-leaning newspapers that acted as “stakeholders” and manipulated the Commission’s findings.

“Who are these stakeholders? Domani, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Repubblica,” she said in front of the cameras.

Italian right-wing newspapers followed suit by publishing a list of so-called “anti-Meloni” journalists.

“We’ve entered a new, more dangerous phase,” Francesca De Benedetti, senior editor at newspaper Domani, told POLITICO, adding that journalists are being “described as the aggressors.”

“We have been depicted as the enemy, and the problem is that this paves the way for a hate campaign,” she said.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani repeatedly denied accusations that the government undermines press freedom. | Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Since Meloni’s comments Tuesday, media freedom organizations have denounced misinformation campaigns by pro-government media and underlined the danger in creating lists of journalists considered anti-government.

“The concept of ‘anti-Meloni journalists’ is all too closely reminiscent of proscription lists, an unacceptable practice that, unfortunately, still brings us back to square one: the illiberal drift that some would like Italy to take,” leaders of the FNSI, Italy’s journalists union, said in a statement.

Both Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani have repeatedly denied accusations that the government undermines press freedom.

Tajani, whose Forza party is both part of the Italian ruling coalition and in von der Leyen’s center-right European People’s Party family, claimed there was no violation of press freedom in Italy as “everyone says whatever they want.”

In response to those warning of risks to rule of law in the country, he insisted they “do not know the Italian situation.”

The Italian government did not respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.

“Democratic drift”

A string of high-profile incidents since Meloni took office, however, has fed concern amongst watchdogs about democratic rollback.

In June, Meloni called for Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella to intervene after undercover reporters for online media Fanpage secretly filmed individuals from the youth wing of Meloni’s far-right Fratelli d’Italia party making fascist, racist and antisemitic remarks. While the Italian leader accused Fanpage of utilizing “regime methods” to selectively target her party, Fanpage defended its journalistic methods.

The month before, journalists at Italy’s state broadcaster RAI went on strike to protest what their union called “suffocating control” by the government. The union alleged that Meloni’s administration was “attempting to turn RAI into a mouthpiece for the government.” Both RAI and the government have denied the accusations.

Italy dropped five places in the Reporters sans frontières’ annual World Press Freedom report. | Piero Cruciatti/Getty Images

Domani’s De Benedetti told POLITICO that the debate over RAI’s independence exemplified a broader downward trend in media freedom since Meloni took office. In recent years, Meloni’s government has pursued multiple defamation lawsuits, most prominently against Domani and journalist Roberto Saviano.

“We at Domani were the first to experience these attacks, but now the situation has reached enormous proportions,” she said.

This year, Italy dropped five places in the Reporters sans frontières’ annual World Press Freedom report, falling into 46th place. Poland, Hungary, Malta, Albania and Greece were the only other countries in Europe to score lower.

Documented violations of media freedom —  such as physical attacks, harassment or psychological abuse, attacks to property, censorship and legal incidents — have increased in Italy since Meloni’s government took office, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) report found.

Between October 2022 and June 2024, 193 incidents were reported, up from 75 in the previous 22 months. Over a quarter of those related to actions by government or public officials.

MFRR told POLITICO that Meloni’s sharp reaction to their report confirms its findings.

Media freedom groups have called on the European Commission to intensify its efforts and reinforce its role in protecting media freedom in Europe. | Johannes Simon/Getty Images

“At the moment, in Italy there is no space for critical journalism, because, as soon as you express critical ideas, you become the target of verbal attacks and smear campaigns, mostly initiated by those who hold the political power,” MFRR said.

The watchdog also hit back at allegations that the report was authored by journalists themselves.

“Journalists were by no means co-authors of the report,” MFRR said.

Eyes on von der Leyen

Media freedom groups have called on the European Commission to intensify its efforts and reinforce its role in protecting media freedom in Europe.

In a joint letter to von der Leyen in July, 26 organizations asked the Commission president to ensure that media freedom, the protection of journalists and access to public interest journalism would remain high political priorities for her.

But it appears these priorities are not at the top of von der Leyen’s to-do list.

In June, von der Leyen looked to slow down the Commission’s Rule of Law report criticizing Italy while she sought Rome’s support for a second term as European Commission president, much to the fury of media organizations.

“No bargaining with fundamental rights enshrined in EU treaty! The [European People’s Party] had completely failed with [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orbán; they or von der Leyen should not do the same mistake with Meloni or others!” Renate Schroeder, director of the European Federation of Journalists, said on X.

De Benedetti of Domani was similarly pessimistic at the prospect of Brussels’ intervention.

“The European Commission has been pretending not to see, like it did with Orbán. Now it’s making the same mistake with Meloni,” De Benedetti said.

“But in the case of the freedom of the press, there have been so many episodes that it is undeniable that there are issues. I hope that the Commission will be responsive,” she said.

A Commission spokesperson told POLITICO on Monday that Brussels will reply to Meloni’s letter to von der Leyen “in due course,” adding that it will continue to “engage with all Member States in the in the concrete follow-up” to its recommendations.