Journalism "under digital siege"
AxiosNov 25, 2021
The Facts
On the eve of the 30th World Press Freedom Day, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a worldwide attack on media and journalists, calling for an end to the targeting of truth and stressing freedom of the press to be “the foundation of democracy and justice.”
363 journalists were imprisoned globally in 2022, a 30-year high according to the NGO Committee to Protect Journalists. Within his video message as part of a wider UN commemoration, Guterres urged the world to end the detainment and imprisonment of journalists for "doing their jobs."
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The global state of press freedom has worryingly deteriorated in recent years. Autocratic leaders have used censorship, media repression, and attacks on journalists to consolidate power, with control of information believed to be essential in holding control of all else. This is unfortunately particularly prominent in nations like Russia, with dozens of journalists being arrested for simply running stories about the war in Ukraine. The international community must continue to bolster support for journalists to protect democracies from autocratic trends.
Establishment-critical narrative
The double standards of the US government are on full display in the lead-up to World Press Freedom Day. The Biden administration has proclaimed the centrality of press freedom globally and has expressed outrage over Russia's arrest of US journalist Evan Gershkovich for espionage. Meanwhile, despite such rhetoric, the US continues to pursue the extradition of journalist and publisher Julian Assange. America's hypocrisy on the world stage is stunning.
