World Press Freedom Day 2025
Challenges and successes of local voices on World Press Freedom Day.
Also see
The Courage to Tell Dangerous Truths
It is more urgent than ever to support free and robust reporting.
Ukraine: The Challenges to Covering War Crimes Trials
Reporters often face obstacles accessing court and can struggle to source both training and support.
Afghanistan: “The Taliban Took All My Dreams Away”
Women’s exclusion from the Afghan media space has meant that issues critical to women go unreported.
How African Journalists are Defying Censorship
In the face of harassment and repression, media across the continent is not only surviving but innovating.
Breaking In, Holding On: the Women Reporters of Ankara
In a tough media landscape, parliamentary politics is a rare female stronghold– but equality remains elusive.
“This is a Critical Time for Iraq”
Co-founder of Jummar media explains why young Iraqis urgently need an information space where they can learn, contribute and share perspectives.
Mounting Pressure on Moldova’s Independent Press
Experts warn that existing legislation is failing to protect media.
Welcome to IWPR’s Frontline Update, your go-to source to hear from journalists and local voices at the front lines of conflict.
THE BIG PICTURE
To mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3, IWPR is highlighting stories from IWPR’s network of reporters around the world and the challenges and successes they face in their brave pursuit of truth.
VOICES FROM THE FRONTLINE
“I dreamed of becoming a renowned journalist one day, but the Taliban took all those dreams away from me,” exiled Afghan reporter Sophia Naseri, 27, told IWPR.
Press freedom in Afghanistan is dire, especially for women, with an estimated 80 per cent of female journalists forced to flee since the Taliban took power.
In Europe, too, journalists face challenges including malign information campaigns, delegitimisation and violence.
"We see that hate speech against the press, spread by politicians, reaches the masses and has worrying effects,” Natalia Zăhărescu, a Moldovan journalist from the investigative Ziarul de Gardă newspaper, told IWPR. “I believe that such situations are intended to discourage honest and independent journalism.”
In Ukraine, amid active conflict, journalists also negotiate what media expert Oksana Romaniuk describes as multiple “systemic and logistical barriers” to report on the huge number of ongoing war crimes trials that are so key to providing justice and accountability.
WHY IT MATTERS
And yet, despite the overwhelming challenges, courageous local voices continue to drive change.
Across the African continent, enterprising media organisations are finding creative ways to out-manoeuvre restrictions on press freedom. In Turkey, women have broken down barriers in the male-dominated sphere of political reporting to ensure their voices are heard. In Iraq, independent media outlet Jummar is empowering young people to provide a rare source of non-sectarian stories about issues that affect the lives of ordinary Iraqis.
THE BOTTOM LINE
IWPR continues to support and strengthen local media, in often challenging environments, as an essential part of protecting human rights, strengthening democracy and celebrating the free flow of ideas.
As Akintunde Babatunde, of the Nigeria-based IWPR partner Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, wrote for IWPR this week, “Press freedom is not just about journalists but about the people they serve. It is about truth, accountability, and the right of every citizen to know.”
