Press freedom is under attack in every corner of the world, the United Nations chief said Tuesday, denouncing the targeting of journalists and the spread of disinformation.
Speaking ahead of World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, Antonio Guterres issued a rallying cry for journalists and media worldwide.
“All our freedom depends on press freedom,” he said in a video message, calling it the “foundation of democracy and justice” and the “lifeblood of human rights.”
“But in every corner of the world, freedom of the press is under attack,” the UN secretary-general added.
Journalists are being targeted both on and offline, he warned. “They are routinely harassed, intimidated, detained, and imprisoned.”
Not to mention those who are simply killed. According to Reporters Without Borders, 55 journalists and four media workers were killed in the line of duty in 2022.
Guterres also lamented the concentration of the media industry into the hands of a few powerful players, and the collapse of independent media.
