SOCIAL CATEGORY: They smear media and promote mistrust of journalists
Robert Fico (Slovakia)
Slovakia’s 2025 RSF ranking: 38th/180
Profile: Investigations into corruption and abuse of authority are not to his liking. This prime minister describes journalists as “hyenas”, “bloodthirsty bastards,” “possessed by the devil” and even “dirty anti-Slovak whores.” His verbal attacks have inspired threats against media professionals and even led to the murder of one journalist, Jan Kuciak, in 2018. Authoritarian measures have been taken in recent years, including political control of public broadcasting and restrictions on access to state-held information.
2025 hit list:
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500 social media attacks against journalists, mostly supported by Prime Minister Fico's party, Smer-SD
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a pro-government activist who had called journalists “sellouts” and “perverts” elected to the regulatory authority with the power to sanction the media
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the owner of a pro-government website selected by the ruling majority to head public broadcasting
What he says:
“I am convinced that an organised criminal group of journalists, mainly concentrated in the newspapers Denník N, SME and Aktuality, is operating in Slovakia. I draw the attention of the competent criminal authorities so that they begin a serious investigation into the extent to which these journalists are undermining the sovereignty of the state and attacking the institutions of the Slovak Republic.”
His deadly weapon: smearing journalists by describing them as “organised crime” members
