GLOBAL

World Press Freedom Day 2021

This year’s World Press Freedom Day highlights the importance of information as a public good, a theme of huge importance as the Covid-19 pandemic still grips the world and fake news and disinformation continue to harm health, human rights and democracy alike.
Anti-coup protesters prepare for a clash with riot police on March 02, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar's military government has intensified a crackdown on protesters in recent days, using tear gas and live ammunition, charging at and arresting protesters and journalists.
Anti-coup protesters prepare for a clash with riot police on March 02, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar's military government has intensified a crackdown on protesters in recent days, using tear gas and live ammunition, charging at and arresting protesters and journalists. © Hkun Lat/Getty Images
COMMENT

Speaking Truth to Power

In a world still consumed by the pandemic, the classic role of the press remains as essential – and as under attack – as ever.

Anthony Borden

Anthony Borden
IWPR FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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Getting the story out remains a risky endeavour. On World Press Freedom Day, IWPR recognises and celebrates those continuing to speak truth to power. 
 

When the Myanmar military overthrew the government, security forces shut down national TV, radio, newspapers and – as our frontline report in this Spotlight shows – restricted access to the internet and even smartphones. As the coup completes its fourth month, according to the press monitoring group Reporting ASEAN, 77 journalists in Myanmar have been arrested, with 43 currently detained and arrest warrants pending for a further 22. 
 

While China has imposed a ‘patriotism’ test on all political candidates in Hong Kong, the same is under way for the media. Controls have been tightened over the public broadcaster, independent outlets shuttered, and journalists and media owners – including Jimmy Lai, founder of Next Digital and Apple Daily – subject to arrest and imprisonment. 
 

And as Covid-19 ravages India, hit by the worst second wave of the virus, the government focuses on censoring Twitter, compelling the removal of tweets from professional reporters and citizens revealing the reality of the country’s health disaster.
 

In a world still consumed by the pandemic, journalists have themselves been key workers – keeping populations informed, highlighting and combatting orchestrated disinformation campaigns and helping to connect populations shut in and fearful. 
 

But as these examples from Myanmar, India and elsewhere show, the classic role of the press remains as essential – and as under attack – as ever: to hold governments to account, to shine a light on human rights violations, to give a platform to citizens in need.
 

In a rapidly evolving media and information landscape, the only certainty is of change, and the disruption caused by the digital transformation is profound: on finances, on quality and balance, on competition with other sources, from citizen journalism to official propaganda. Partisanship in the press is high, trust in the media low, and the future impact of unregulated and unregulatable social media platforms is unknown. 
 

Yet all of this only underlines the courage of individual journalists to report the news. To have faith in the power of honest story-telling to make a difference. To represent people’s interests, give them a voice and drive positive change. 
 

At IWPR, we celebrate reporters globally, especially local journalists committed to their communities, and juggling the fine balances of working – and living – in dangerous environments. The success of reporters and citizen journalists inside Myanmar to continue to report on the coup and share their information and images with international media around the world may be a new paradigm in crisis reporting. It is certainly a profile in bravery. 
 

Around the world, in fact, local voices are making themselves heard. For every act of government repression, there is a resistance, and in this Spotlight we highlight many inspirational successes of people finding ways to make themselves heard. 


People like Abjata Khalif, who runs a not-for-profit organisation in northern Kenya producing untold and under-reported stories in local languages for often extremely marginalised communities.  As part of an innovative “listening programme,” people in remote villages gather together to listen to solar powered radio or a package on a USB stick. 
 

“People are kept abreast of the news, they listen and learn to see how they can replicate ideas from around the world into their own remote setting,” he said.
 

Or like Saeb Daoud, director of the Voice of Peace radio in Iraq’s Nineveh province, who is working to rebuild trust and unity among the area’s diverse religious and ethnic communities. Given the fierce backlash against the media’s attempts to hold government and officials to account, he said, “I’m not sure what the future will look like for freedom of the press.”
 

As always at this time of year, we commemorate our colleague Ammar al-Shahbandar, IWPR’s Iraq country director killed six years ago on the eve of World Press Freedom Day by an Islamic State bomb, as well as Iraqi reporter Sahar al-Haidari and other journalist colleagues who have lost their lives in service over the years.
 

The stakes could not be higher: for the individuals, for their communities, and for a world which against a deluge of lies above all needs honest information.
 

On World Press Freedom Day, support independent journalism. Take out a paying subscription to your preferred media. Give a donation to a media freedom or development group, including IWPR. 
 

And make your own voice heard to government to lobby and respect press freedom for what it is: the working necessity of professional journalists, and a fundamental and essential right in open societies for us all. 

"The stakes could not be higher: for the individuals, for their communities, and for a world which against a deluge of lies above all needs honest information."

IWPR's GLOBAL VOICES

 

 

Our network of reporters in areas of crisis and transition around the world produce reporting with unique insight from a local perspective.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHT

Myanmar: Filming the Coup

Participants in story-telling project empowered to alert outside world and fellow citizens to the country’s plight.

Edmalynne Remillano

Myanmar's military Junta continued a brutal crackdown on a nationwide civil disobedience movement in which thousands of people have turned out in continued defiance of live ammunition.
Myanmar's military Junta continued a brutal crackdown on a nationwide civil disobedience movement in which thousands of people have turned out in continued defiance of live ammunition. © Stringer/Getty Images

"Access to information is very, very important because it can save our lives."

A protester makes a three-finger salute in front of a row of riot police, who are holding roses given to them by protesters, on February 06, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.
A protester makes a three-finger salute in front of a row of riot police, who are holding roses given to them by protesters, on February 06, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar. © Getty Images
Protesters marching past Myanmar military soldiers who arrived to guard the Central Bank overnight on February 15, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.
Protesters marching past Myanmar military soldiers who arrived to guard the Central Bank overnight on February 15, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar. © Hkun Lat/Getty Images
Protesters hold banners and shout slogans while making three-fingered salutes in front of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Party's headquarters on February 15, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.
Protesters hold banners and shout slogans while making three-fingered salutes in front of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Party's headquarters on February 15, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar. © Hkun Lat/Getty Images
Military soldiers walk down a street while carrying weapons that contain live ammunition after clashes with protesters on March 03, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.
Military soldiers walk down a street while carrying weapons that contain live ammunition after clashes with protesters on March 03, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar. © Stringer/Getty Images
Protesters hold banners and shout slogans in front of the Central Bank building, being guarded by military soldiers, on February 15, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.
Protesters hold banners and shout slogans in front of the Central Bank building, being guarded by military soldiers, on February 15, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar. © Hkun Lat/Getty Images
A resident stands in front of a line of riot police on February 25, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.
A resident stands in front of a line of riot police on February 25, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar. © Hkun Lat/Getty Images
FIRST PERSON

Myanmar: ‘The Coup Has Robbed Us of Our Rights’

Anyone associated with the protests risks arrest, and no one knows where they are taken.

"Sometimes people are taken to military camps for investigation and torture, or they are sent to a prison. Nobody knows – you can be lost this way so that no one can find you."

The Campaign to Silence Turkish Journalists

Prosecutions, house arrest and travel bans among multiple threats deployed by the state.

Çağrı Sarı

Youth Chiristian leaders listen to the pastor during Easter mass as they follow the new directive of Kenya's President to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus at Revivslist Outreach Church Kenya in Nairobi on April 4, 2021.
Youth Chiristian leaders listen to the pastor during Easter mass as they follow the new directive of Kenya's President to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus at Revivslist Outreach Church Kenya in Nairobi on April 4, 2021. © Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP via Getty Images

Nigeria: Media Still Used As a Tool of Control

“The more we fight for transparency, the more it will help people be accountable.”

"Mistrust has been cultivated over decades of being lied to and bullied by authority figures."

The spread of false information, particularly during election seasons, has recently presented challenges in Kenya.
The spread of false information, particularly during election seasons, has recently presented challenges in Kenya. © PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images

Kenya: Combating Extremist Narratives Around Covid-19

How local journalists are working to stop radicals exploiting the pandemic as a recruitment tool.

"The big story in Kenya right now is the weaponisation of Covid-19."

PROJECT HIGHLIGHT

Libya’s MediaLab Generation

Scheme has produced professionally trained journalists and developed public and private partnerships across the country.

IWPR

Trainees with IWPR's “Women in Media” training course at The University of Tripoli Media Lab, October 2017.
Trainees with IWPR's “Women in Media” training course at The University of Tripoli Media Lab, October 2017. © IWPR

Is Media in the Balkans Really Free?

Poor management and few financing options mean that most outlets are in thrall to political powers.

Beatrice Tridimas

While most media in Serbia as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina are privately owned, the ruling parties have enormous influence over editorial policies.
While most media in Serbia as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina are privately owned, the ruling parties have enormous influence over editorial policies. © Andrej Isakovic/AFP via Getty Images

"The information war is real, and there is the ever-present danger that it will spill over into action."

COMMENT

The Real Threat to Freedom of Speech in Ukraine

Are Kyiv’s sanctions against pro-Russian TV channels and social networks a violation of free speech or essential to fight disinformation?

Andrii Ianitskyi

INTERVIEW

Central Asia’s “Digital Authoritarianism”

The pandemic has allowed the authorities to further abuse technology and restrict freedom of speech.

Inga Sikorskaya interviewed by Timur Toktonaliev

"More attention needs to be paid to the digital and physical security of media workers and all fighters for the freedom of expression."

Raul Castro, gives a speech on January 1, 2019, during the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution at the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba.
Raul Castro, gives a speech on January 1, 2019, during the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution at the Santa Ifigenia Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba. © YAMIL LAGE/AFP via Getty Images

Cuba Has a New Language of Dissent

The regime cannot counter the immediacy of radical but peaceful collective disobedience.

Jesús Adonis Martínez

PROJECT HIGHLIGHT

Iraq: Radio Stations Fear for Future

Hard-won freedoms may be at risk if outlets attempt to hold politicians and officials to account.

Qassim Khidhir

Protesters wearing bandages crossing their mouths stand holding up signs showing the faces of two slain journalists captioned in Arabic "martyrs of the word" during an anti-government demonstration, also calling for freedom of the press, in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on January 17, 2020.
Protesters wearing bandages crossing their mouths stand holding up signs showing the faces of two slain journalists captioned in Arabic "martyrs of the word" during an anti-government demonstration, also calling for freedom of the press, in the southern Iraqi city of Basra on January 17, 2020. © Hussein FALEH / AFP via Getty Images

"As independent media with limited income and without political support, it is difficult to face the government."

COMMENT

Uzbek President’s Media Promises Ring Hollow

Despite the head of state’s supposed backing of courageous journalism, harassment continues apace.

Marat Mamadshoev

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. © Official web-site of the President of Uzbekistan, president.uz

"Officials continue to harass and threaten journalists with impunity, while legislation continues to shrink the space for free expression."

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