The ECPMF’s Selective Outrage: Protecting Propaganda, Not Press Freedom
ECPMF’s selective advocacy exposes its complicity in shielding disinformation, empowering propaganda mouthpieces that destabilise Kosovo while masquerading as champions of press freedom.
In a recent letter1, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), alongside various co-signatories, raised concerns over Kosovo’s governing party’s decision to boycott certain media outlets. While press freedom and media accountability are undeniably vital pillars of democracy, the ECPMF’s stance in this case reveals troubling contradictions. Its intervention, lacking nuance and a comprehensive understanding of Kosovo’s fraught media ecosystem, appears to conflate the defence of press freedoms with the inadvertent shielding of disinformation and propaganda.
At the heart of the matter lies the credibility of Flutura Kusari, ECPMF’s media law officer2. Her history in Kosovo raises questions about her impartiality and the organisation’s objectivity. Kusari has frequently positioned herself as a critic of Kosovo’s government, often during critical moments when defensive measures were enacted against the destabilising influence of Kremlin-backed Serbia. Her vocal opposition to pol…