On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, the United Nations chief said that the media is under attack in every corner of the world and warned countries to stop the targeting of truth and those who report it.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that there has been a 50% rise in the killing of media workers in 2022. Guterres added that the press “is the foundation of democracy and justice” and it is under threat.
According to Reporters Without Borders, 55 journalists and four media workers were killed in the line of duty in 2022.
“Truth is threatened by disinformation and hate speech seeking to blur the lines between fact and fiction, between science and conspiracy,” Guterres said in a video message for the UN commemoration of the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day. It was first proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993 and authorised to be held every 3 May.
Guterres cited Russia's example that how countries are suppressing media rights. As per Russia's law, anyone publishing information about its military that Moscow deems to be false could face up to 15 years in prison.
Russia detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in late March, accusing him of spying.
Further, the UN chief strongly criticised the targeting of media workers both on and offline, saying they are routinely harassed, intimidated, and detained.
Guterres added that three-quarters of women journalists have experienced violence online and one-quarter have been threatened physically.
The secretary-general said the world must unite to stop threats, attacks, and imprisonment of journalists for doing their jobs, and stop the lies and disinformation.
“As journalists stand up for truth, the world stands up with them,” he said.
Others voiced similar concerns, with the head of UNESCO, which is organizing an event at the United Nations in New York to mark the occasion on Wednesday, also speaking out.
Audrey Azoulay said the digital age was changing the entire information landscape -- making "professional, free, independent journalism" more necessary than ever.
She said harassment and intimidation of journalists was unacceptable.
"We find ourselves at a new crossroads," she said. "Our current path is leading us away from informed public debates... a path towards ever more polarization."
New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger said it is not only direct repression that threatens journalists and freedom of information.
"The internet also unleashed the avalanche of misinformation, propaganda, punditry and clickbait that now overwhelms our information ecosystem... accelerating the decline in societal trust," he said.
"When the free press erodes, democratic erosion almost always follows."
(With agencies input)
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