Welcome to our September 2025 Newsletter!
It’s great to connect with the Civitates community again after a break.
This month’s newsletter offers a snapshot of the impactful work our partners are doing across Europe. But it’s only a fraction of what they’re achieving: we had so many submissions for entries it was impossible to include them all.
This is just one measure of how our partners are rising to the challenges of these tumultuous times. Among them, is the unprecedented threat facing Europe’s independent media.
We’ve documented its scale and nature in a new report published this month, Beyond the Headlines.
We’re proud of the report, which is the culmination of substantial research, drawn in part from listening to our partners, and our experience supporting and working with independent media for the last five years.
It paints a dispiriting picture of Europe’s independent media landscape, in which outlets battling to do vital public interest journalism have to navigate increasingly hostile rhetoric, legal and regulatory interference, political capture, and a critical lack of funding and support.
Philanthropy’s crucial role
More positively, though, Beyond the Headlines reveals how targeted, flexible philanthropic support can make a real difference at this critical time, when the need for independent, factual and investigative reporting is so pressing.
It charts a course for doing so, and shows how philanthropy is uniquely placed to address the shortfall in current media funding by providing the flexible, long-term support outlets need to overcome their challenges and experiment with new business models.
Over the past five years, Civitates’ pooled funding model has shown what can be achieved, and the proven benefits for donors as well as grantees – such as Hungarian outlet, Direkt36, who this month won a prestigious Free Media Award (see below).
But to support more independent media outlets, in more countries, the funding void desperately needs filling. It’s time for philanthropy to step up.
In solidarity,
ELISA PETER
Director, Civitates
AI Forensics recently revealed that social media platform X allowed brands to target users based on highly sensitive personal data. Now, together with an alliance of European civil society organisations, they’re trying to hold the social media giant to account. Read the full article here.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas resigned in July after a major investigation by Siena, Lithuania’s first nonprofit organization dedicated to investigative cross-border reporting. Working with Laisvės TV, the publication exposed Paluckas’ alleged unethical financial dealings.
Ravni BG (Equal BG), a coalition of Bulgarian civic society organisations, has just published an in-depth analysis and reflection on its Solidarity Fund, which is supported by Civitates. Read it here.
Independent Hungarian media outlet Direkt36 has won a Free Media Award for their “valiant investigative journalism under exceedingly difficult circumstances”. The judges cited Direkt36’s “powerful, in-depth” journalism, including the film, A Dinasztia (The Dynasty), which exposed the vast wealth of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s inner circle.
Madrid-based Civio won a precedent-setting case on algorithm transparency in Spain’s Supreme Court. The Court sided with Civio and forced the Government to give them access to the source code of BOSCO, the software application deciding who receives a social voucher.
Taranto Chiama, an investigative documentary by Italian civic journalism outfit, Cittadini Reattivi, is being screened across Italy prior to being shown at the European Parliament. The documentary, supported by Civitates, was filmed over nine years in Taranto, one of Europe’s most polluted cities. More information and the trailer are here.
Bastien Le Querrec, a legal expert at La Quadrature du Net, which promotes digital freedom, recently wrote an op-ed for Le Monde on online content regulation. He argued that it’s necessary to fundamentally rethink the online platform model.
Dokustelle, the confidential reporting and support service for people experiencing and witnessing anti-Muslim racism and Islamophobia in Austria, is doing a study on experiences of racism in the Austrian health care system. The survey takes about ten minutes and can be found here.
Catalonia-based feminist collective, Fembloc, are launching two projects focusing on AI from a feminist perspective: a European project to “develop an intersectional impact assessment framework for AI”, and an initiative to train AI models to “automate the detection of hate speech in video streams” among other things.
Dutch digital rights group Bits of Freedom has started summary proceedings against Meta for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA). They’re demanding that Meta offer Instagram and Facebook users the option to choose a feed that isn’t based on profiling.
After nearly three years of collective work Démocratiser la politique has just published its first report. The group works to bring democracy beyond the elite of insular circles and establish inclusive political representation in politics.
A recent article in Aktivist:in, Amnesty International Austria’s magazine, took a deep look into the history and mission of LEFÖ, the Austrian association by and for migrant women
All six episodes of Portuguese digital magazine DIVERGENTE’s podcast Arsonist Country: why does Portugal burn so often? are now on their website and available on all major podcast apps. The investigation was re-broadcast by a national news radio station and four local radio stations. English subtitled versions are on YouTube.
Sieć Obywatelska Watchdog Polska, which upholds the right to information, organised a public hearing for candidates to lead Poland’s Supreme Audit Office (NIK). It offered a rare look at democratic accountability in action.
Expert Forum (EFOR), exposed coordinated inauthentic behaviour, AI-driven propaganda and cross-platform manipulation ahead of Moldova’s parliamentary elections. EFOR monitored the vote on the ground as disinformation spread at alarming speed. President Maia Sandu cited their investigations in the European Parliament. EFOR also brought the fight against manipulative content to the Romanian Senate at the high-level conference Fake Online Content, Real Minds’. View the full debate here.
Ireland’s Hope and Courage Collective recently published research it conducted with their Civitates’ partner, Doras on an assault in Limerick. It showed how lies spread on social media, fuelling hate and leading to real-life harm. See: Exposing Vigilante Tactics and Amplification of Violence in a Limerick Assault.
Peer-to-peer learning
On September 25, Civitates’ media grantee partners attended a peer exchange session exploring fundraising ethics, revenue diversification, audience engagement among other topics, at the seventh edition of the two day iMEdD International Journalism Forum in Athens.
Support for independent media
On 23 September 2025, at a webinar hosted by Civitates in partnership with Philea’s Journalism Funder Forum, to launch Beyond the Headlines (see Elisa Peter’s message above), attendees from around 40 foundations discussed topics, including the urgency of financing independent media, particularly in the face of recent government cuts and the importance of long-term flexible funding for independent media.
Depolarisation & privacy online
Civitates’ Claudio Cesarano was part of the annual Global Forum on Depolarization on September 25 and 26, which brought together around 70 leading experts, philanthropists, and 40 members of the IFIT global Depolarization Community of Practice. On 30 September, he attended EDRi’s Privacy Camp exploring Resilience and Resistance in Times of Deregulation and Authoritarianism..
02 / 10 – Perspectives for self-determination and destigmatization – Conference on sex work organized by maiz and LEFÖ
Location: Superbude Praterstern (in the Transponder), Perspektivstraße 8, 1020 Vienna, 9.00 am to 6.00 pm
LEFÖ association and maiz bring together sex workers, counseling professionals, self-advocacy organisations, journalists, civil servants, authorities, and interested parties for a full day of reflection and exchange.
24 – 25 / 10 17th Dubrovnik Media Days
Location: University of Dubrovnik, Croatia, 9am – 5pm
Annual international conference hosted by the University of Dubrovnik, gathering media scholars and communication experts from across Europe and beyond.
29 / 10 2nd European Congress on Disinformation and Fact-Checking – DisinfoCongress 2025 by UC3M MediaLab
Location: Online (Day 1), Madrid – University Carlos III of Madrid. Getafe Campus (Day 2), 9am – 5pm
Organised by UC3M MediaLab, the DisinfoCongress 2025 brings together researchers, journalists, policymakers and civil society to discuss emerging threats and solutions in the global information ecosystem.
07 – 9 / 11 Mozilla Festival 2025
Location: Barcelona
The premier gathering for people working to build a better digital world. For 15 years, Mozilla Festival has been the home for big ideas, bold conversations, and the movement for a better internet.
DIVERGENTE Film Series – Starting 11 / 10 running until February 2026.
Location: Marquis of Alegrete Palace , Campo das Amoreiras, 94, Charneca do Lumiar, Lisbon
DIVERGENTE will host monthly screenings starting in October. Each session is an opportunity to spark conversation and debate, bringing civil society closer to journalism. The series will premiere on 11 October with the documentary “Chelas nha Kau” (Chelas my place).
Calls:
- The call for award nominees is open for the International Ellsberg Whistleblower Award (EWA), which honours the integrity and courage of whistleblowers and their allies for disclosing information that significantly enhances free public or scientific debate to bolster democracy and the public’s right to know. More details here.
Jobs:
- Statewatch is recruiting a new Executive Director. Applications are open now until 6 October at 11:00 am BST. More details here.
Internships:
- EU DisinfoLab is offering internship opportunities for students as part of their academic track. Details of upcoming roles for 2026 in Communication and Community and Policy and Advocacy are here and here.
We Recommend:
- How to use EU law to enforce your rights. The European Centre for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) has released a learning package that details the steps for challenging national laws and equivalent measures if they fall under the scope of EU law and violate their provisions.
- Towards a bold and meaningful civil society strategy outlines the European Civic Forum’s (ECF’s) position on the Civil Society Strategy being prepared by the European Commission and calls for a coherent and ambitious framework to support, empower, and, where necessary, protect civil society organisations (CSOs).
- The Keseb Democracy Champions’ Pocket Guide is a digital resource hub offering key trends, frameworks, and strategic recommendations to advance democratic resilience and innovation.
- Geborgte Zeit. Eine Anstiftung zum Handeln (Borrowed Time. An Incitement to Action), a new book by Maria Mayrhofer, Executive Director of the Austrian grantee #aufstehn will be published on October 23. It draws on ten years of civil society campaigning, to make a passionate plea for collective action in times of multiple crises.
- The European Sentiment Compass 2025 examines how Donald Trump’s presidency is reshaping Europe’s politics and identity. The report was presented by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) and the European Cultural Foundation (ECF).
- Save (Search, Archive, Verify and Encrypt) is OpenArchive’s flagship mobile app. It’s the only secure mobile media archiving app of its kind: it offers a suite of responsive features that streamline secure preservation based on community input and extensive field testing.
- Climate Clarity is a hub for cutting-edge work at the crossroads of climate action and truth. The platform by EU DisinfoLab with the support of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, gathers analysis, stories, tools, voices and multimedia resources to expose climate mis- and disinformation, and empower those who want to build fact-based momentum.
- EU DisinfoLab and its community have developed a collection of country factsheets spotlighting the disinformation landscape across EU Member States. First published in 2023, all factsheets are being updated and new versions published throughout 2025.
