UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said journalists and media workers are facing increasing “politicisation” of their work and threats to their freedom for simply doing their jobs.
Guterres said this in his message to mark World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday.
World Press Freedom Day is annually observed on May 3, to inform the international community that freedom of the press and freedom of expression are fundamental human rights.
“The day shines a spotlight on the essential work they do, bringing those in power to account, with transparency, ‘often at great personal risk’,” the secretary-general said in a video message.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many media workers have been on the frontlines, providing accurate, science-based reporting to inform decision-makers and save lives.
“At the same time, journalists who cover climate, biodiversity and pollution have succeeded in bringing global attention to this triple planetary crisis,’’ he said.
According to him, the threats to their freedom to go about their reporting and story-telling fairly and accurately, are multiplying daily.
“From global health to the climate crisis, corruption, and human rights abuses, they face increased politicisation of their work and attempts to silence them from many sides.
“Digital technology has democratised access to information. But it has also created serious challenges.”
The UN chief noted that many social media platforms make their money not through increasing access to fact-based reporting, but by boosting engagement, which often means provoking outrage and spreading lies.
“Media workers in war zones are threatened not only by bombs and bullets but by the weapons of falsification and disinformation that accompany modern warfare.
“They may be attacked as the enemy, accused of espionage, detained, or killed, simply for doing their jobs.”
Guterres said that digital technology was also making censorship easier for authoritarian governments and others, seeking to suppress the truth, with many journalists and editors facing the prospect of their work being taken offline on a daily basis.
Digital technology is also creating new “channels for oppression and abuse”, with women journalists “at particular risk” of online harassment and violence.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has found that nearly three-quarters of women respondents had experienced online violence.
Hacking and illegal surveillance also prevent journalists from doing their jobs.
“The methods and tools change, but the goal of discrediting the media and covering up the truth remains the same as ever.
“Without freedom of the press, there are no real democratic societies. Without freedom of the press, there is no freedom,” he said.
Ten years ago, the UN established a Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists, to protect media workers and end impunity for crimes committed against them, and the UN is continuing to fight to protect their rights.
This year’s World Press Freedom Day Global Conference began on Monday, and will run until May 5 in Punta Del Este, Uruguay, built around the theme "Journalism under Digital Siege".
Participants will discuss the impact of the digital era on freedom of expression, the safety of journalists, access to information and privacy.
The International Press Centre (IPC), Nigeria, joining the global community to raise concerns about press freedom violations, has stressed the need for stakeholders’ collaboration to safeguard its freedom.
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The IPC made the call in a statement by its Communications Officer, Olutoyin Ayoade, on Tuesday, to mark the 2022 World Press Freedom Day (WPFD).
The centre urged the Federal Government to respect its commitment and uphold the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Peoples and Human Rights.
The centre expressed worry over 40 documented incidents of press freedom attacks on 49 journalists in 2021 alone.
The organisation stated that since 2020, it had identified over 100 journalists and other media professionals who had been victims of surveillance, spying, harassment, threats, violence, assaults, battery, unlawful arrests, jailing, robberies, kidnappings, and suspected murder.
It noted that these acts were allegedly committed by state governments and their agencies, Department of State Services, Rapid Response Squad, Police Officers and State Police Commands.
Others it stated were the Nigeria Police Intelligence Response Team, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), unknown gunmen, hoodlums, and private organisations among others.
Taking into account the theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day: “Journalism Under Digital Siege,” the Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, called for adequate measures against attacks on press freedom.
According to Arogundade, the prevalence of press freedom infractions in the country indicates that there is now an urgent need for media stakeholders to jointly identify and develop sustainable solutions.
“This includes raising the standard of safety of journalists and media freedom in Nigeria.
“The reality is there is little or no justice or even compensation for the victims, while the perpetrators go scot-free, we must, therefore, all work together to fortify the safety of journalists and media professionals,” he said.
Arogundade said that to promote the conversation, IPC would on May 11, launch two documentaries which would highlight IPC’s interviews with journalists and other media professionals.
The interviewees, he said, would-be victims of brutal press freedom violations during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown and the #ENDSARS protests.
According to him, the public presentation of the documentaries will be followed by a round table on protection for journalists during national crises or emergencies.
“Panellists and participants will include media practitioners, media organisations, media professional bodies and associations, press freedom organisations.
“It will also include media and digital rights organisations, security bodies, government representatives, lawyers, judiciary representatives, human rights activists and human rights organisations,” he said.
Also, Dr Patrick Okon, a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, University of Calabar has said that real press freedom will be elusive until the media are adequately remunerated.
Okon made the statement in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Calabar on Tuesday at the commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day.
The don said that journalists were still poorly paid, subjected to abuses and not regarded as professionals in the society.
He, however, pointed out that although journalists were freer now than in the military regimes.
The former House of Representatives member said that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) had not provided enough access to public information as some government businesses were still operated like cults.
“The FOIA which I incidentally took part in midwifing as a federal legislator has not provided enough access to public services information; journalists are still denied access to information in government agencies run like cults.
“On the digital era, I think it has enhanced immediacy in reporting and improved production but it has also opened the door to a lot of misinformation in the guise of citizen journalism.
“There is an urgent need to moderate the activities of the digital platforms being used to dish out this misinformation and disinformation,” he said.
Okon, however, called on the media to learn to assert themselves as professionals, adding that some journalists practised infantile journalism in search of basic comfort.
“As a result, many of them have become subservient to those they look up to for financial gain, this has affected their newsgathering, reporting and management.
“Many of them have failed to continually develop themselves by taking up available training and retraining opportunities,” the don said.
He added that the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) had also not done much in exercising its responsibility of safeguarding its members.
