Press freedom in the Netherlands: “Legal threats lead to self-censorship”

Political environment

Parliamentary journalists are only allowed into the PVV corridor, and Geert Wilders has previously described them as “the scum of the edge”. According to Wijndelts, this is a big problem. Andre van Es, the talk-maker and chairman of the Amsterdam May 4 and 5 committee, agrees. “If you're happy you made it to the pass,” Van Es says, “how far have we really drifted?” “When a political leader, like Wilders, portrays journalists in this way, it also affects society and how people view journalists. This is very bad.” “Then the politician's supporters go on a rampage,” adds Ter Veld. “The journalist sometimes receives more than thousands of offensive messages.” PersVeilig attempts to relieve as much of the burden as possible in a threatening situation involving a journalist.

“We have to get rid of the idea that online threats are irrelevant,” says Ter Velde. “I've talked to a lot of journalists who have symptoms of PTSD and they were really devastated by what happened online.”

social studies

Many journalists are still too naive to use social media, according to Ter Velde. “Sometimes their entire private life is on social media. This creates a risk that their family and friends will be attacked,” says Ter Velde. PersVeilig works with tech companies like Meta and Google to remove malicious messages. Messages are also supposed to be deleteable via X, but cooperation with the company has been difficult since Elon Musk acquired it. Doxing, which makes private information public, has been sanctioned since January 1, which is a positive thing. Changes have also been implemented in the Land Registry and Chamber of Commerce to ensure privacy.

Healthy democracy

Freedom of the press is important for a healthy democracy, Wendeltz and Ter Veld agree. According to Wendlitz, the gap between audience and journalist can best be bridged by being a transparent journalist, including on social media. “As a journalist, it is your responsibility to show why you practice good journalism.” “And accountability,” Ter Velde adds, “tell people how the story came about.”