United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has stressed the need for journalists everywhere in the world to be able to report freely without fear or favour.
In a message to mark this year’s World Press Freedom Day, Guterres said when journalists are unable to work, “we all lose.”
He said, “In a world plagued by conflict and division, World Press Freedom Day highlights a fundamental truth: Freedom for people depends on freedom of the press.
He acknowledged free and independent journalism as an essential public good, and the backbone of accountability, justice, equality and human rights.
He, however, noted that tragically, this is becoming more difficult and more dangerous every year.
“Journalists face attacks, detentions, censorship, intimidation, violence and even death — simply for doing their jobs. We are seeing a sharp rise in the number of journalists killed in conflict areas, particularly in Gaza.
And now, as this year’s theme reminds us, press freedom faces an unprecedented threat,” Guterres said.
He noted that Artificial Intelligence can support freedom of expression, or stifle it, and biased algorithms, outright lies and hate speech are landmines on the information superhighway.
Accurate, verifiable, fact-based information is the best tool to defuse them.
He said the Global Digital Compact adopted last year includes concrete steps to strengthen international cooperation to promote information integrity, tolerance and respect in the digital space and AI must be shaped in a way that is consistent with human rights and puts facts first.
“And the Global Principles for Information Integrity I launched last year are supporting and informing this work as we push for a more humane information ecosystem. On this World Press Freedom Day, let’s commit to making this a reality and safeguard press freedom and the press everywhere,” he said.
