Press freedom in chaotic and digitalized world

2023 is the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day. People always celebrate a day to remind themselves to remember something important. In this sense, World Press Freedom Day alarms us the importance of freedom of press and expression, which are threatened in this chaotic era. As UN Secretary-General Mr. Guterres said, “Freedom of the press is the foundation of democracy and justice. It gives all of us the facts we need to shape opinions and speak truth to power. But in every corner of the world, freedom of the press is under attack”.

The war launched by Russia on 24 February 2022 hasn’t ended yet. During wartime, It’s harder to protect press freedom. Because of terrible political and economic environment, a number of media outlets had to close or reduce their activity. And their employees may be placed on temporary suspension without pay. Still, professional media workers and independent media will stand up to guard their belief in press freedom and struggle to deliver the truth to people from home and abroad.

Take Ukraine as an example, despite the huge challenges brought by war, its press freedom index gets higher ranks (79/180) than last year (106/180). Among all the journalists and news outlets behind the progress, The KYIV INDEPENDENT, online English newspaper created by journalists who were fired from the Kyiv Post for defending editorial independence, is famous for covering the war from frontlines to audience around the world. War reporters prioritized arriving the scene and reporting the true news stories before their personal lives. Freedom of press is nonsense without facts and truth. That’s why journalists and editors with professional ethics decide to risk their lives to get one-hand information instead of disseminating the propaganda and conspiracy theories. That’s why World Press Freedom Day calls for protecting the journalists and supporting independent journalism.

In Ukraine’s 2023 press freedom index, the security indicator is the lowest one (Score:20.78). Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UN cultural agency UNESCO, said 2022 was the deadliest year for the profession. Last year, 86 journalists were killed. Even outside war zones, journalists, especially women journalists are often targeted and abused both physically and mentally wherever in offline or online space. When fake news and disinformation have filled the media environment, we need professional journalism more than ever to get closer to facts and truth and then express ourselves. But how can we access reliable information from professional media outlets if media workers’ lives are at risk anytime?

Besides the independent journalism and safety of journalists, immersed in digital technologies, fighting for press freedom today means a lot more compared with the traditional mass media era. On the one hand, digital technologies have empowered normal people to create and spread contents themselves on social media like Youtube, Meta, Twitter, Weibo, Wechat. Media platforms become more diverse and pluralistic. On the other hand, digital technologies also encourage the dissemination of cyberattacks, online harassment, misinformation and disinformation. All these will worsen the information ecosystem and threaten the press freedom.

Therefore, it is essential to improve people’s media literacy and ethics awareness. During Russia-Ukraine war, some journalists were criticized to use AI technology to identify the dead regardless of their families’ feeling and AI’s possible mistakes. Without guidance and regulation, the benefits brought by high tech could also become press freedom’s poison.