UNESCO Warns of Alarming Global Decline in Press Freedom and Journalist Safety

UNESCO Warns of Alarming Global Decline in Press Freedom and Journalist Safety

By RMN News Service
New Delhi | December 28, 2025

A major new report from UNESCO has raised urgent concerns about a “historic regression” in freedom of expression worldwide, marking a 10% drop between 2012 and 2024 – the steepest decline in recent decades. The findings, outlined in the organization’s World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development Report 2022-2025, point to escalating violence against journalists, widespread self-censorship, and a host of emerging threats in the digital age.

The period from 2022 to 2025 proved particularly deadly for media professionals, with 186 journalists killed while reporting on wars and conflicts – a staggering 67% rise compared to the prior four years. In 2025 alone, 93 journalists lost their lives, including 60 in active conflict zones. Despite global pledges to curb such attacks, accountability remains elusive: While the impunity rate for these killings fell from 95% in 2012 to 85% in 2024, most perpetrators continue to evade justice.

Beyond physical dangers, the report highlights a sharp increase in self-censorship, which has surged by 63% since 2012 and grows by about 5% annually. Journalists are increasingly targeted through legal harassment, online abuse, and forced displacement.

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Notably, 75% of female journalists reported facing online violence in 2025 while on the job. Environmental reporting has also become perilous, with UNESCO documenting 749 attacks on journalists covering such issues from 2009 to 2023. In Latin America and the Caribbean, over 900 journalists have been driven into exile since 2018.

UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany emphasized the critical role of free expression, calling it “the very condition for lasting peace.” The organization urges governments to bolster protections for independent media and promote media information literacy to rebuild public trust.

Amid the grim outlook, the report notes some encouraging developments. From 2020 to 2025, 1.5 billion more people joined social media and messaging platforms, expanding opportunities for public engagement. There’s also growth in collaborative investigative journalism, fact-checking initiatives, and legal recognition of community media as reliable local sources.

To address these challenges, UNESCO has trained more than 10,500 content creators from over 150 countries in ethical audience engagement. The agency is also pushing for greater transparency in online spaces via its Global Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms.

As threats to journalism mount, experts warn that diminishing press freedom could undermine democratic processes and societal stability, likening it to extinguishing a guiding light in turbulent times.