EFJ President Maja Sever was invited to the Coordination meeting on combatting anti-Muslim hatred/racism organised by the European Commission in Brussels on 14 March 2025. Journalists, researchers and associations working in the media sector discussed challenges related to anti-Muslim hatred/racism in media and shared good practices. We are republishing here in full the speech given by Maja Sever on this occasion.
Do you know who Toni Buzov was? He was a man who could not remain silent. Our colleague, journalist Boris Dežulović, wrote an article about him in a local newspaper, and Nebojša Slijepčević directed a thirteen-minute film that won numerous awards this year and nearly earned an Oscar.
Toni Buzov was a passenger on train 671 travelling from Belgrade to Bar. This was in the early 1990s, during the wars in the region where I come from. Uniformed men on the train began separating Muslims. When the train was stopped outside its regular schedule, the abducted civilians were taken away., Toni Buzov grabbed a seventeen-year-old boy by the hand, sat him in his seat, and stepped out instead of him. Among 500 passengers, he was the only one who chose to act. Toni Buzov was killed. His body was never found.
Today, we speak about the fight against anti-Muslim racism. This fight begins with us. We must ask ourselves how many times we have looked away, how many times we have chosen to remain silent, and how many times we have avoided someone just because they were different.
When I was preparing a text for a small exhibition about murdered journalists in Gaza, I wanted to add more than just dry statistics. I wanted to provide context and tell the story of my colleagues who were killed in the line of duty. But what did I find in our Western media, in English-language outlets? Just numbers. Numbers that grow day by day. There is no real interest in this issue in Western media. It was only when I searched Arabic-language sources that I discovered that journalist Heba al-Abdallah, listed as number 111 in our statistics of murdered journalists, was married and had a daughter, Judy. She was a news anchor and radio host, collaborated with a university, and was a board member of the Social Media Club in Palestine. She also worked on the women workers’ dossier for the Subaltern Workers Movement. A few days before the bomb killed her and her daughter, she wrote:
“People should not be reduced to numbers because each of us has dreams, ambitions, and memories.”
Our solidarity too often remains reduced to numbers, panel discussions, or visually appealing actions. But we cannot fight racism merely with declarations. We cannot reduce this fight to numbers. This struggle begins in everyday life, particularly in journalism. in media editorial policies.
The media industry and journalists must critically examine their work and reflect on the mistakes of recent years, when the media focused on economic survival and reduced investments in journalism. Many have erred in terms of content, often neglecting fundamental principles of ethical journalism in the name of sensationalism and clickbait. Newsrooms prioritised financial survival over journalistic integrity, reducing investments in investigative journalism and professional reporting. The editorial office is the heart of journalism and must take responsibility. Editors must ensure that newsrooms do not become echo chambers, reinforcing existing biases rather than challenging them.
We must return to truthful and accurate information, capable of breaking false stereotypes that fuel racism and discrimination, to earn the privileges worthy of journalism as a public good. Journalism also involves telling people what they don’t want to hear, giving a voice to those who have no say.
We need greater diversity in newsrooms and must protect journalists from harassment—both online and offline. The lack of diversity within newsrooms requires journalists to be extra careful in representing minorities and vulnerable groups. There are even more reasons to check our biases and assumptions, to provide context, and to reach out to marginalised communities in times of heightened polarisation and post-truth rhetoric.
We should support and develop independent self-regulatory bodies in the media that will act as professional correctives against the rise of racist narratives in the media, while also addressing and applying similar mechanisms on social media platforms.We must also demand accountability from social media platforms, where disinformation and hate speech spread unchecked.
The newsroom is key. We must invest in media literacy and journalistic independence. Governments must adopt policy decisions that ensure journalism receives real support, funding, a legislative framework, and enforcement mechanisms. Only truthful and accurate information can dismantle false stereotypes that drive racism and discrimination.
What are we doing as the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)?
- We fight against hate speech and disinformation in the media through collaboration with the European Commission on the Code of Conduct for Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online.
- We provide legal and professional support to journalists facing pressure and abuse for their work, including SLAPP lawsuits.
- We conduct training sessions and workshops for journalists to help them recognize and counter disinformation and report ethically on sensitive topics such as Islamophobia. and the coverage of migration.
- We have supported the creation and drafting of ethical charters to help journalists cover migrants more effectively an ethically, such as the Rome Charter and the Idomeni Charter.
- We participate in media monitoring initiatives like Mapping Media Freedom, identifying patterns of discriminatory reporting and hate speech.
- We advocate for political and financial support for quality journalism and actively work on legislative frameworks that protect journalists and media freedom.
- We are often frustrated because we cannot do enough to retain brave, high-quality journalists in the profession, allowing them to serve as a bulwark against disinformation and stereotypes that fuel racism.
And so, unfortunately, to answer your question: What has been the response to the rise of anti-Muslim hatred in recent years?
I must say—it has been weak and often merely declarative. Many strategic documents talk about journalism as a public good and a pillar of democracy, but what have we done to make this a reality? Journalists are under attack, facing SLAPP lawsuits, political pressures, Big Tech manipulation, and populist attacks by politicians. Journalists who should be the guardians of truth and the watchdogs of democracy have become targets.
Boris Dežulović, who told the story of Toni Buzov’s bravery, is today the target of SLAPP lawsuits and vile online campaigns, and is often labeled a public enemy because his writing exposes the silence of many, shatters stereotypes, and refuses to conform to racism. Because he, too, is a man who could not remain silent. Of course, mechanisms are needed—but they are not enough. Journalism itself is a mechanism—fair, professional journalism that has the space to operate, support, and protection. Journalism is the foundation of a free society and the only real defence against propaganda, racism, disinformation, and hate speech.
If we do not protect journalists and ensure independent journalism, discussions about “mechanisms” will remain meaningless.
Because journalists must not remain silent.
Maja Sever
Source: N1
