World Press Freedom Day has just passed, but what is its legacy really?
As the World Press Freedom Day came and passed on May 3rd this year, it has become apparent that this international day has become more relevant than ever.
With more than 85 percent of the world’s population seeing a decline in press freedom over the past five years, it has become more difficult to find verified information. Furthermore, it has become more dangerous to produce this information. According to UNESCO, from 2016 to 2021, 455 journalists were killed. This does not include the 11 journalists who has lost their lived in Ukraine in 2022 and the seven media workers who have been killed in Mexico, three in Haiti and one journalist each in India, Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Chad, Guatemala and Brazil, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
One sees increased imprisonment of reporters as well, with 50 reporters’ imprisonment in 2021 in China, followed by Myanmar (26), Egypt (25), Vietnam (23) and Belarus (19). Reporters are forced to go into exile, if they are not willing to parrot state propaganda, and many have had to flee their own countries to continue their work. Few occupations are as dangerous and deadly as journalism on the whole sphere of the world. Despite this, many still persevere, be it as fixers, freelancers, or journalists from a media, to accurately deliver the information that stand as a necessary pillar for the security and flourishment of the peoples’ future.
