On World Press Freedom Day 2022, the International Press Institute (IPI) offers 10 recommendations for what democratic governments must do to better protect press freedom at home and around the world.
In recent years, press freedom has come under siege globally as authoritarianism gains strength. Openly autocratic regimes have widened their crackdowns on critical voices. Journalists increasingly face draconian legal restrictions and threats to their liberty and safety. Even in democracies, populist leaders have launched attacks on the press, while policymakers have adopted measures that clash with core press freedom principles.
This is a critical moment for the international community to act in defence of democracy by strengthening protections for press freedom and other essential human rights — without which democracies cannot exist. In order to do so, democracies must first put their own house in order by shoring up protections for independent journalism at home, which will enable them to credibly defend media freedom as a fundamental right around the world.
“We need a strong and principled movement by the world’s democracies to push back against a wave of authoritarianism around the world that threatens fundamental rights, including press freedom“, IPI Executive Director Barbara Trionfi said.
“We see an increasing corrosion of the international standards and mechanisms that over the past 70 years have played an important role in defending media freedom. This trend, combined with a weakening of the economic stability of the media industry, threatens to have long-term detrimental effects on independent journalism. We urge the international community to put the promotion of independent journalism at the forefront of the global agenda.”
