2021: a grim year for journalists and free speech in an increasingly turbulent and authoritarian wor
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2021: a grim year for journalists and free speech in an increasingly turbulent and authoritarian world
Dina Matar, SOAS, University of London
Hundreds of journalists killed or arrested, rising numbers of female media workers targeted, floods of misinformation and hate speech and ineffectual or hostile governments unable or unwilling to protect the public’s right to know. The 2021 press freedom index released recently by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) makes for grim reading.
The report reveals that 488 journalists were detained in 2021 – an increase of 20% compared to the previous year – while a total of 46 were killed and 65 held hostage. Of those detained, 60 were women (33% higher than 2020). As you might expect, it tends to be autocratic regimes with dismal records for freedom of speech and human rights which crop up once again as the worst offenders.
The latest report notes an upturn in repression against journalists in Belarus – where opposition politicians and commentators ha...
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