A new report has warned media freedom in the EU is close to “breaking point” in many states amid rising authoritarianism across the continent. In its latest annual report covering 2023, the Berlin-based Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) highlighted widespread threats, intimidation and violence against journalists and attacks on the
Freedom of Expression
Press freedom and climate journalism: United in crisis
Journalism is in crisis, again. The challenges to press freedom are enormous and multi-faceted and they are deepening — in “free” and open societies as well as autocracies. And there are no simple solutions. For individuals and entire media outlets the crisis is existential. Nearly 100 journalists and media workers have been
The deadliest days for journalists in war zones
The seven- month-long war in Gaza is perhaps the only military conflict in contemporary history which has claimed the lives of over 100 journalists, including targeted killings. As of April 26, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), preliminary investigations have shown at least 97 journalists and media
Alarming rise in journalists killed in conflict zones last year
The Paris-based UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), whose mandate includes promoting the safety of journalists and ensuring press freedom worldwide, has pointed out that 2023 has been a particularly deadly year for journalists who work in conflict zones. Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General, said at least 38 journalists and media
Freedom of speech is silenced in Nicaragua
Israel now ranks among the world’s leading jailers of journalists
Israel has emerged as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, according to a newly released census compiled by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Each year, the committee releases a snapshot of the number of journalists behind bars as of December 1 2023 was the second highest on
Press no longer free in Africa: IPI
There is incessant increase in the number of abuse of media rights on the African continent including deaths of practitioners with DR Congo, Mali, and Zimbabwe, Guinea cited among the countries censuring and flouting the purveyors’ rights to disseminate news without duress. The International Press Institute (IPI), a renowned watchdog, has
Don’t Gag Press Freedom, RSF urges Zimbabwe
Global media watchdog, Reporters without Borders (RSF) has urged authorities in Zimbabwe to guarantee unwavering freedom to Internet and social media access as over 6 million people go to the polls in the Southern African state. In recent months, the Emmerson Mnangagwa Government has slapped restrictive measures to foreign media houses,
Press freedom in Asia under siege
In Asia, freedom of the press continues to erode, especially in authoritarian regimes where journalists are often targeted in broad daylight. More and more, journalists are put behind bars or face strategic lawsuits against public participation, otherwise known as SLAPP, for reporting what’s actually happening on the ground. Over the past three
Zimbabwe criminalises journalism: RSF
Journalists in Zimbabwe face death sentences, life imprisonment and other heavy penalties should authorities in Southern Africa sign into law Criminal Law ahead of the country’s polls on 23 August, as global watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, lobbies for media rights to inform. Once the draconian Bill– called the Criminal Law (Codification