There are 81 incidents of intimidation against journalists registered in the first six months of this year by the Observatory of Threatened Journalists of the Interior Ministry, Fnsi and Order, 76% more than the 46 episodes in the same period of 2024. Among the data in the report it emerges that the phenomenon of threats against female journalists, after having seen a trend decrease in cases recorded in the first six months of the period 2021-2024, records a reversal of the trend, with 20 episodes recorded in the first six months of 2025. To these 20 – recalls the Fnsi – we must add 46 episodes of which male colleagues were victims, while 15 cases were registered against journalistic editorial offices, unspecified crews or relating to generic threats aimed at the figure of the journalist (for example banners displayed during sporting events).
Among the most ‘dangerous’ regions for information operators are Lazio, Lombardy and Campania; followed by Calabria, Emilia Romagna, Piedmont and Sicily. The provinces in which the highest number of episodes was detected are Rome (with 16 episodes) and Naples (7), followed by Cosenza and Milan with 5 events each and Turin (4). In total, there were 16 regions where the intimidations occurred, with the first seven recording 81.5% of the total intimidations.
Of the 81 episodes of the first half of this year, 40 can be traced back to socio/political contexts, 28 to common crime contexts, 11 to organized crime contexts, the latter concentrated in Campania (5), Lazio (3), Calabria (2) and Sicily (1). Thirty-one cases of intimidation perpetrated via the web. The other most used modus operandi were insulting/threatening writings (18), physical attacks (16),
verbal threats (12), damage (4).
Another new feature of the report relating to the first half of 2025 is a chapter dedicated to the analysis of the trend of the phenomenon in the five-year period 2021-2025: if the recorded episodes saw a substantial decline until 2024, “2025 seems to highlight an increase in cases”, concludes the analysis.
