Abstract
Attacked by the government and the populist press alike, political bloggers and Twitter users in Greece struggle to make their voices heard, argues
Without a doubt, the suppression of online free speech has become an increasingly important piece of Greece’s political puzzle. It forms part of the wider landscape of human rights violations, xenophobic and racist attacks and decreased rights for workers. The attack on online media has meant widespread censorship of the facts, in effect the news, which makes a true representation of the current political conflict impossible. When trying to report the news that mainstream media chooses to ignore, activists, alternative media and prominent bloggers have long experienced serious levels of censorship. And now it’s getting worse.
In recent years, much of the mainstream media’s reporting has been closely aligned with the government’s agenda. This is nothing new. The government has often applied pressure to types of reporting it doesn’t like, even pulling the plug on Athens’s Indymedia website, established in 2001 by anti-authoritarian campaigners and radical leftists on 11 April 2011. Indymedia had often reported on cases of police brutality and exposed the relationship between the neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn and some members of the police. At the time, Adonis Georgiadis, an MP for ruling party New Democracy (ND) and known for his hatred of Indymedia’s editorial stance, sent a tweet to Public Order Minister Nikos Dendias, congratulating him for taking down Indymedia. In the end, after a series of protests and rallies in support of the outlet, it managed to keep going.
Prominent bloggers and social media users have also been targeted for their public writing and comments as well as for their investigative reports. An example that best illustrates the intense political bullying coming from the government is the case of the blogger Gerogriniaris, which, translated into English, means “grumpy old man”.
Gerogriniaris successfully exposed the role of Truth Team, a group that first emerged prior to the national elections of 2012, with a mission support New Democracy (ND), the current party of government. Although the team denied expressing ND’s official views, it has turned out to be a propaganda machine designed to attack anyone who opposes the ruling party’s views. Opposition party supporters, in particular the Coalition of the Radical Left, (SYRIZA), frequently face attacks, but the group also targets leftists, anarchists and anyone with a “communist orientation”.
ABOVE: Riot police at a demonstration to voice outrage over the murder of hip hop activist Pavlos Fyssas, 20 September 2013
Credit: Konstantinos Tsakalidis/Alamy Live News
Gerogriniaris’s investigations found that Truth Team, which closely monitors television, internet, radio and the printed press, regularly distorts statements and fabricates stories and facts, according to reports from magazine Unfollow.
George Mouroutis, head of the press office of the General Secretariat of the Prime Minister, and in charge of the Truth Team, has been at the epicentre of this case. He often throws out unsubstantiated accusations and threats on Twitter.
For many, anonymous activism is still the safest way
Gerogriniaris, who has been on the receiving end of these threats, offers some explanation. In an interview on 1 October, he told me, “I am not a journalist, I don’t belong to any party. All I am trying to do is to check if the government speaks the truth. Since I reported on Truth Team I have been publicly getting a lot of threats of prosecution from Mouroutis.” He adds that, although he has been bullied and threatened a number of times by Golden Dawn members, he is “more impressed by the constant and methodical pattern of those who confront me when it comes to New Democracy issues. I believe that those in power hold a crypto-fascist mentality – a very dangerous one.”
Gerogriniaris has got used to trolling and bullying from several accounts that support ND’s interests. When he writes something, he prefers to have strong arguments in order to defend himself.
Many bloggers, activists and ordinary people use Twitter and other sites as vehicles to engage in political struggle, and many of them choose to be anonymous for their own safety. Many of them are known out on the streets and participate in protests.
“GP”, a member of an anti-Nazi group in Athens that organises anti-fascist rallies and raises awareness on immigrants and refugee issues, is quite confident about the anonymity status on social media. Having received several threatening emails and direct messages on Twitter, GP believes that anonymous activism is still the safest way. “If I was not so afraid about my life, I would go on with my real name,” he says. He has received fake pictures of anti-fascists being hung, and threats such as “we know who you are, we are looking for you”. So far, he adds, “I’ve managed to cope with any kind of threat or bullying.” When asked about the ways in which a threat can be carried out, he says, “Sometimes, you get followed by accounts with little influence. They usually do not engage in political conversations. They seem very neutral. They only post songs, movie trailers etc. When something big enters the agenda and I state my opinion, I get reactive and inflammatory comments. Just like that, out of the blue. There’s a lot of monitoring on social media I guess. I remember once, I was tweeting during a pro-immigrant rally, and I was bullied by a Nazi group in the Netherlands…”
Those who voice alternative opinions continue to face threats from far-right media, whether it be online and or in print. And, increasingly, intimidation tactics are used not only by radical groups, but also by the current regime. For individuals that dare to challenge the current political environment, the war has just begun.