Holdis on How COVID-19 Affects Media in Romania

The first case of the novel coronavirus was registered in Romania on 26 February. “Three weeks later, the country was passing emergency decrees limiting freedom of expression and access to information, temporarily withdrawing from the Convention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and moving to monopolize all official communication regarding the spread of the virus,” CMDS’ researcher Dumitrita Holdis writes in her article Manufacturing Censorship (Consent not Required), published by the Center for Independent Journalism (Centrul pentru Jurnalism Independent).

“The speed and ease of passing such measures is extremely concerning for media professionals and should be for all members of the public,” she writes, adding that “it is vital in times of crisis to remember that free access to reliable and accurate information could save lives.”