Firehose of Falsehood
The EU has imposed sanctions on Russian propaganda outlets, such as Russia Today and Sputnik News. But the Kremlin-directed official channels are just the tip of the iceberg.
There is a large ecosystem of pro-Kremlin and alt-right disinformation websites operating in Central and Eastern Europe.
Viktor Orbán blinks first as EU moves to block bilions of euros going to Hungary

In the clash between Brussels and Budapest, Hungary blinked first. It was a successful test for the so-called conditionality mechanism that is supposed to keep countries from straying from democratic principles. But still, there is little hope for real anti-corruption reforms under Viktor Orbán.
Frog smugglers in Slovakia: Illegal trade in endangered animals worth millions

German law enforcement authorities speak of a “frog mafia,” an animal-smuggling ring with a Slovak connection. The group may have imported endangered species worth between 180,000 and 2 million euros.
Luxemburg Business Register case. End of investigations or cardboard monster?

Black clouds hang over the effective work done by investigative journalists. The recent decision of the Court of Justice of the EU imposed a serious risk of closure of access to information about beneficial owners – writes Krzysztof Izdebski from Open Spending EU Coalition
Atlatszo journalists respond to accusations of treason published in pro-government newspaper

We cannot remain silent about the fact that Atlatszo is not in a foreign payroll, does not work for orders, has no intention of obstructing national goals, is not part of any backroom power, and does not eat other people’s lunch
Pavla Holcova: You can not scrap the blood

Slovakia is a chilling case study. A laboratory of how the corrupt system was built, how it fell, how it broke down into pieces, and how it was rebuilt – tells Pavla Holcova in an interview about the film “The Killing of a Journalist”, which just premiered in Poland.
Dark screen for transparency: public access to ultimate ownership data abolished by European Court of Justice

Public access to company ownership registers is disappearing rapidly across Europe after the EU court decision.
Asbestos: Left Behind and Still Deadly

New evidence shows that asbestos is killing even twice as many people as we previously thought it was. In 2019 alone, almost 240 thousand people died from asbestos exposure. 90 730 cases were registered in the EU and UK. But disposing asbestos is an uphill battle. What can we do about it?