Journalism Is Not a Crime!

Despite democracy’s promises, journalism remains shackled by restrictions, facing relentless challenges in uncovering facts. Throughout history, brave journalists have paid the ultimate price for their pursuit of truth, with many meeting untimely deaths. From war-torn Gaza to Ukraine’s battlefields and the Middle East’s simmering conflicts, journalists are caught in the crossfire.

Since Al- Aqsa flood Operation, there have over 145 journalists been killed by the barbarian Israeli troops, with those 35 deaths of journalists that were killed in the line of duty. A staggering 550 journalists languish in prisons worldwide, marking a 7% surge from last year. This disturbing rise underscores how truth-fearing governments have become the deadliest menace to journalists, stifling free speech and accountability. Alarmingly, one third of the journalists were killed by the Israeli troops in the year 2024, that speaks volume of the magnitude of crisis; journalism has been confronted with!

Journalism under Siege

Democracy and journalism are intertwined, but this relationship turns ominous when democracies perceive journalism as a threat. The major conflict zones – Iraq, Sudan, Mynamar, Ukraine, and war affected region of Gaza has witnessed a five year high death toll of 57.4 per cent, with a record number of 54 journalists killed, and including those of 31that laid their lives in the conflict zones.

Protecting Journalism and the Journalists…

The conflict zones in the world (Iraq, Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine and Gaza) continue to claim the lives of the journalists. Gaza is the world’s most dangerous region for journalists, where around 30 per cent of journalists killed on the job by the Israeli forces. Since ‘Al-Aqsa Flood Operation’, the Palestine has become the most dangerous country for the journalists which have recorded a five-year high death toll of more than 145 journalists, including those of 35 that were targeted in the line of their duty! It’s the Israeli troops that literally slaughtering the journalists in the Palestine region, which has been declared the world’s most dangerous country in the world for journalists in its latest report by the RSF.

And Pakistan has no exception, according to the report, Asia is the second most dangerous region for journalists, with Pakistan where seven journalists have been killed in the line of duty along with five journalists that killed during the protests that made possible the ouster of the former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid.

If You Are Decent, Behind Bars you Go!

The RSF reported that there are four world’s largest prisons for journalists – china (124), Mynamar (61), Israel (41) and Belarus (40), and these countries hold almost half of the detained journalists in the world. Remember, oppression is democracy’s greatest enemy, and the countries like china and Israel using imprisonment of journalists as a weapon to repress journalism. Disappearance of journalists isn’t a new norm, with 100 journalists are still missing around the globe- 28 of them have been disappeared in the last decade. Mexico is the world’s number one country which has the most missing journalists which accounts for 30 per cent of the total missing journalists. When it comes to hostaging the journalists, it has been reported that 55 journalists are being as hostages across the globe, with Syria (where the 50-year rule of Al Assad family has come to an end )has 70 per cent of the hostages but after the Asaad regime falls, its hoped that efforts would be made possible to recover them from the cells.

Protecting Journalism in the digital age

Journalism must keep abreast with the ever-changing landscape of innovations led by the technologic advancements. The digital age has brought up many challenges for the journalism to thrive and survive in the 21st century because there’s a flood of misinformation and fake news hijacking the authenticity of news and fact-based news media outlets. The unprecedented growth of digital platforms has led the mainstream to succumb to the pressure of fake news because fake news travels faster than the real fact based news. And there’s also a need for the world press bodies to come together under one roof to develop a mechanism to not only safeguard the journalists but also to protect the journalism from the menace of fake news.

Who’s repressing Journalism and why?

It’s often said that Journalism isn’t a crime, but the recent data shows (where 54 journalists lost their lives in 2024), the world has not yet come to the point where Journalism can breathe freely without intimidation and repression. It’s a hard fact that the pursuit of truth is seen as a threat to those in power because it directly conflicts with their interests- making Journalism a perilous profession. So, protecting the truth is the responsibility of every citizen because it is the journalist that keeps the society informed. Journalists hold the powerful accountable, brings facts and uncover truths, but this crucial work often puts them in danger as repressive regimes (like Israel) and state authorities silence them through intimidation, imprisoning or killing them for crimes they didn’t commit. Journalists safeguard truth; we must safeguard them because truth is the ultimate power on earth!