Following the resumption of its activities at the end of 2025, the Platform for the Promotion of Press Freedom and the Protection of Journalists significantly expanded its work programme to address emerging challenges affecting media freedom and journalists’ safety.

In cooperation with the National Contact Point for SLAPPs, the Platform began preparations for the development of a monitoring and registration system for SLAPP lawsuits and a strategy for specialised training programmes targeting both potential victims of SLAPPs and legal professionals. The Platform also expanded its work plan to include cooperation with higher education institutions, with the aim of integrating topics related to media freedom, journalists’ safety and SLAPPs into journalism and law curricula. Preliminary discussions were initiated with youth organisations in preparation for the youth-focused phase of the Council of Europe’s Journalists Matter campaign.

The Platform further broadened its membership and activities. In 2025, the Public Defender of Rights (Ombudsman) joined the Platform, strengthening its multi-stakeholder character and cooperation between institutions working on human rights, media freedom and journalists’ safety. The Platform also established two ad hoc working groups dedicated to assessing the impact of generative artificial intelligence on news reporting and examining the implications of AI technologies for the trustworthiness of journalism.

In addition, the Platform launched a dedicated website aimed at informing media professionals and the wider public about press freedom, journalists’ safety and the implementation of the Council of Europe’s Journalists Matter campaign in Slovakia.

More details: https://www.stonplatforma.org