Buenos Aires, December 4 (NA) – The Argentine Association of News Entities (ADEPA) has warned about the "growth of strategies and actions" by sports leaders to "intimidate and silence" journalists and media outlets.
In a statement, the organization emphasized that "in recent weeks, there has been an increase in letters and legal notices, threats of legal action, multi-million dollar lawsuits, and media campaigns against professionals" for reporting on situations involving the Argentine Football Association (AFA).
According to the Argentine News Agency, journalists Alejandro Alfie, Esteban Trebucq, Jonatan Viale, María O'Donnell, and Mario Pergolini, among others, have been subjected to this "pressure".
"These actions come from AFA authorities, including its president Claudio 'Chiqui' Tapia and its treasurer Pablo Toviggino, as well as from lawyers linked to them," ADEPA denounced.
"As ADEPA and other international press organizations have pointed out, here and around the world, these practices (which include abusive compensation lawsuits known as 'SLAPPs') aim to intimidate press professionals, condition journalistic work, discourage investigations, and promote self-censorship. Media campaigns and social media campaigns deployed against journalists covering these topics pursue the same objectives," the association emphasized.
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Furthermore, it highlighted that "access to information of public interest is a right of citizenship, and it requires that journalists be able to work without pressure or threats of abusive and intimidating litigation".
"Freedom of expression needs professionals who can investigate and report without fear of reprisals," ADEPA added.
