2022 is considered a black year for journalists and press freedom.
86 reporters were killed, mostly outside the war zones.
This is what the director general of Unesco, Audrey Azoulay,
recalled at the opening of the conference held at the United Nations on the occasion of World Press Freedom,
underlining how many of these victims were simply "at home with their families".
Hundreds more journalists were attacked or imprisoned.
"The level of impunity for these crimes sends a chilling message, because the safety of journalists is not just a matter for journalists or international organizations," Azoulay said.
And as attacks and online hate against the press grow, freedom of expression is needed more than ever "since the advent of the digital age has changed the entire news landscape," added the Unesco director.
While the Internet has opened up new channels of information and expression, it has also provided fertile ground for those seeking to sow disinformation and conspiracy theories.
"Today lies travel much faster than the truth."
Concern was also expressed during the UN conference by the president and editor of the New York Times, Arthur Gregg Sulzberger, according to whom "without journalists providing news people can count on, I fear we will continue to see the erosion of civic ties, the erosion of democratic norms and the undermining of the trust in institutions and between people, which is so essential to global order".
"For nations with a strong tradition of press freedom, including the United States, this means leaders must mobilize to secure legal protections for independent journalists and their sources," he said.
"For countries where reporting the truth is dangerous, this means that the international community must make clear that it will denounce and punish repressive measures and attacks against journalists wherever they occur," he concluded.
"On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the first World Press Freedom Day, it would be wrong not to highlight the poor health of the media world today. According to Reporters Without Borders, in seven out of ten countries, the journalism environment is considered 'bad' and, according to the UN, 85% of people live in countries where media freedom has decreased in the last 5 years".
So in a note
Sabrina Pignedoli, MEP of the 5 Star Movement.
"If on the one hand technological progress brings multiple benefits, as we are seeing with the impressive advance of artificial intelligence, on the other hand the new tools available favor even more the dissemination of false news, which jeopardizes the freedom of information. This is harmful both for citizens and for the world of journalism and for those who work in the sector, weakening their role. Maximum attention is urgently needed towards these tools, undoubtedly useful but which at the same time can worsen not a little the state of democracy of the countries. The European Union must not underestimate these risks or it will suffer consequences", concludes Pignedoli.
"On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, it is good to reiterate the importance of pluralism of information, the backbone of a parliamentary system. The commitment of politics towards journalism must not only be theoretical but also concrete".
This was stated by the
president of the Publishing Commission and deputy of the Brothers of Italy Federico Mollicone
.
"Safeguarding the publishing industries means protecting pluralism and jobs. In the House, to protect the freedom of the media, we approved in first reading a bill signed by me and my colleague Maccanti against digital piracy, which also concerns the publishing market. The defense of rights related to creativity is our priority. We hope that the Senate will approve this law as soon as possible, which all operators have been waiting for a long time. In this regard, the Commission heard, together with Undersecretary Barachini , the Chatgpt platform regarding copyrights and the response has been worrying, as Geoffrey Hinton, one of the godfathers of artificial intelligence, also warned,
who leaving Google said he was alarmed by the risks associated with this new technology.
We will continue to keep our guard up for the protection of the work of journalists and of the entire publishing sector,” he concludes.
"Freedom of the press is one of the pillars of democracy, because the free conviction that leads to voting and the electoral sovereignty of peoples is determined through the formation of public opinion, but public opinion is formed if there is freedom of expression" : said
the minister of culture Gennaro Sangiuliano
guest today of the Braidense library for the presentation of a major exhibition on the 150th anniversary of Manzoni's death.
"We have consecrated it in article 21 but there are other articles of our Constitution that refer to freedom of the press and it is - underlined the minister on the day dedicated to freedom of the press - a fundamental thing on which we must always reflect and keep the guard".
As far as our country is concerned "today in Italy I believe that the press is fairly free and it is good that it is so, that there is a pluralism of sources, then everyone will draw their own free convictions".
Awarded to three Iranian journalists detained in Evin prison
"Every day the world must side with journalists as they defend the truth."
This is the message launched by the Secretary General of the United Nations,
Antonio Guterres
on World Press Freedom Day.
"Our freedom - he added - depends on the freedom of the press, but in every corner of the world this is under attack".
On the occasion of Press Freedom Day, UNESCO yesterday organized a conference at the United Nations headquarters to take stock of the issue and presented the 2023 Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Award to three imprisoned Iranian journalists.
These are
Niloofar Hamedi, Elaheh Mohammadi and Narges Mohammadi
.
Niloofar Hamedi writes for the leading reformist daily Shargh.
He broke the news of Masha Amini's death.
Since September 2022, she has been held in solitary confinement in Iran's Evin Prison.
Elaheh Mohammadi writes for the reformist daily Ham-Mihan.
She covered Masha Amini's funeral and has also been held in Evin Prison since September 2022.
Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi were named two of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People of 2023.
Narges Mohammadi worked for many years as a journalist for a number of newspapers and is also an author and deputy director of the Tehran-based civil society organization Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC).
She is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence at Evin Prison.
She continued to report in the press from prison and also interviewed other female inmates.
"Now more than ever, it is important to pay tribute to all female journalists who are prevented from carrying out their work and who suffer threats and attacks on their personal safety. Today we honor their
commitment to truth and accountability" said the director Unesco General Audrey Azoulay.
India slips to 161st out of 180
On International Press Freedom Day, India marks a disturbing retreat: according to the twenty-first edition of the World Press Freedom Index, the report by Reporters Without Borders, released today, the country has slipped to 161st place out of 180, while in 2022 it found at 150th.
In the introduction to the chapter on India RSF states: "The violence against journalists, the evident political partisanship of the media and the concentration of ownership of the editorial groups in the hands of a very few indicate that freedom of the press is in crisis in the largest democracy of the world governed since 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, the party that embodies the Hindu nationalist right".
The index with which press freedom is evaluated is made up of five indicators: political, economic, legislative, social and safety of journalists.
The most significant fall for India was recorded in the safety category, which sees the country ranked 172nd: this means that there are only eight other countries in the world where the safety of journalists is worse.
Conversely, according to the report, among neighboring countries, Pakistan improved from 157th to 150th place, while Sri Lanka climbed to 135th place from 146th in 2022.