Journalism against hate speech is the focus of the 'Anuari Mèdia.cat'

BarcelonaTrump's new term, the results of the German elections and Meta's decision to dispense with fact-checkers on its networks These are just three examples of how 2025 is immersed in hate speech and the rise of the far right, a trend that has been brewing for years. The role that journalism plays in this context is one of the issues that the new Media.cat Yearbook, published this Tuesday. The report, published since 2011 by the Ramon Barnils Group of Journalists, compiles analyses and reports that address issues such as misinformation during coverage of the DANA (National Action Plan for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women), censorship, the precariousness of the profession—which particularly affects younger generations—and the lack of diversity in newsrooms.

For Enric Borràs, president of the Ramon Barnils Group of Journalists and deputy director of ARA, the yearbook is a space for public reflection on the journalistic profession, an action that is difficult to carry out in the whirlwind of everyday life. In the new edition, Borràs particularly highlights the censorship map for 2024. This tool shows that 28.5% of incidents against the right to information and freedom of expression were caused by the far right. "The far right also uses media tools to spread disinformation and its discourse. It does so from established headlines, pushing the narrative of established media outlets, but it also does so by opening its own portals," the yearbook notes in its prologue. Another common cause of censorship is law enforcement, responsible for 26 percent of cases. The map also points out that there were two situations in 2024 that led to curtailments of freedom of expression and the right to information: the existence of city councils governed by the far right and the right, and the coverage of the DANA (National Anti-Terrorism Act) in the Valencian Community.

Combative attitude

Carme Verdoy Torra, coordinator of the yearbook, calls for awareness of the dangers that threaten journalism. "It's more necessary than ever to look elsewhere, to avoid easy headlines, and to commit to a journalism that allows us to understand a complex world. But it's not easy to do so at a time when our attention is fragmented, we've become accustomed to thescroll infinite and the media are going through several crises: of business model and financing, of positioning in social networks and also of loss of relevance when it comes to informing", he emphasizes. In this sense, he calls for the defense of rigorous journalism that moves away from pseudo-media. In fact, the yearbook is expanding Global Chronicle It pursued strategies of polarization and ridicule of the adversary when it was led by Cristina Farrés, current Director of Communications for the Generalitat of Catalonia.

This year's yearbook also emphasizes gender issues—such as the sexist violence suffered by journalists and the lessons that can be learned from the media coverage of the Gisèle Pelicot case—and class issues—such as the representation of minorities in the media.