€4.2 Million Earmarked by Maximos Mansion for Censorship System

This controversial decision was taken four days before the European elections

Unanswered questions to Mr. Papastergiou

Although the decision is 8 pages long, essential details on how this specific platform will work and its exact objectives are scarce and have already been mentioned.Therefore, Data Journalists submitted specific written questions to Minister Papastergiou.

These included inquiries about the purpose of the platform once implemented, whether it will be managed by a governmental body, another entity, or a private individual, the economic criteria used to determine the project’s cost of 4.2 million euros, and whether there has been any cooperation between the ministry and official journalistic bodies such as the Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers, the Panhellenic Federation of Journalists’ Unions, the National Council for Radio and Television, etc. regarding their possible involvement in such an initiative.

At the time of publication of our investigation, we had not received a response from the Ministry of Digital Governance.

The involvement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the decision raises initial concerns that this specific platform could be related to mechanisms of Russian propaganda, especially as measures are already being implemented across the EU to curb information emanating from the Kremlin following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

However, there is no explicit targeted reference in the specific decision of the Ministry of Digital Governance. It explicitly states – and only – that the creation of the platform is aimed at “identifying and combating deliberate misinformation and misleading narratives.” This general formulation potentially encompasses various aspects, including national and international contexts, as well as the Internet, digital media, print media, and social media platforms.

Such a decision might not have aroused suspicion if it hadn’t been preceded by controversial bills from the Greek government that also directly addressed the “fight against fake news,” but directly challenged press freedom.

On December 19, 2022, the Mitsotakis government decided to withdraw the amendment to Article 191 of the Criminal Code regarding “false news” after facing a backlash. The move was widely condemned both domestically and internationally as an attempt at censorship and contributed significantly to the country’s steep decline in global press freedom rankings.

With an amendment submitted to Parliament regarding the press, the government aimed to reintroduce a provision criticized by journalistic organizations as threatening freedom of speech. The amendment proposes that individuals spreading or disseminating ‘false news,’ as determined by the judiciary to potentially cause concern or fear, thereby posing risks to the economy, tourism, national defense, and international relations, could be subject to imprisonment for up to three years.Following the withdrawal of the amendment, it is now stipulated that for the prosecution to be pursued, it must explicitly define not only the “risk” but also the “outcome” of causing fear, rather than just concern.

The provision, withdrawn by then Deputy Prime Minister Giannis Economou, had provoked strong reactions from journalist associations, a significant segment of the legal community, and numerous organizations inside and outside Greece.

Criticism was also voiced from Brussels.The Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers had called for the withdrawal of the amendment, stressing the risk “that journalists may find themselves self-censoring, because by expressing our opinions or criticism, which is an essential element of our mission, we may cause concern or fear among citizens. There is a risk that the judiciary will intervene and restrict the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression and opinion on events around us. Personal opinions, criticism, and their expression in the mass media or on the Internet are being criminalized”.However, despite the withdrawal of the controversial amendment, the issue of vague references to false news has not been resolved, according to journalist associations.

As for Article 191, even in its original form, before the attempted amendment, the Commission had expressed its views. In response to a question from the Euractiv network in November 2021 regarding the adoption of the Criminal Code by the Greek Parliament, the Commission stated:

“Fake news, especially in the age of artificial intelligence where there is a legitimate concern that the situation could become uncontrollable, is an existing global problem. This is something that no one can deny or remain indifferent to. However, the fight against the whirlwind of misinformation cannot have as its hidden agenda the freedom of the press. This is the delicate point that several authoritarian governments abroad are already aggressively trying to exploit.

In 2023, Greece fell to 108th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders (RSF) press freedom ranking. In its latest report, it specifically mentioned Greece and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:”National and international organizations reported that journalists and media outlets faced pressure to avoid criticizing the government or reporting on scandals.

On January 12, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović urged authorities to ensure that human rights defenders and journalists can work safely and freely. In May, a Reporters Without Borders report raised concerns about “surveillance of journalists allegedly carried out by the country’s intelligence services using Predator spyware, the concentration of media ownership, government control of public media, and violence against journalists”.

The State Department also made specific reference to the intimidating lawsuits against journalists aimed at intimidating and silencing them:

“On July 13, the Journalists’ Union of Athens Daily Newspapers expressed to Justice Minister Floridis the need to protect journalists from legal harassment known as Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).Officially, “the government does not censor the media,” the report says while noting numerous reports that “major media outlets tend not to publish unfavorable news about the government.In a politically sensitive period, on the eve of the European elections, the government decided to allocate 4 million euros to an ambiguous “electronic platform to combat misinformation”. However, in light of previous events, it is called upon to clarify the precise objectives of this initiative, to ensure transparency and guarantee freedom of the press, and to inform about the bodies that will collaborate in this project to prevent instances of censorship.