In Gaza, where Israel’s military operation is underway, a total of 108 media workers were killed between October 7, 2023 and July 15, 2024. Because investigations are incomplete, the number is expected to rise; some media outlets put the toll as high as 151. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (Committee to Protect Journalists: CPJ), a nonprofit that defends journalists’ rights and monitors repression of free expression worldwide, this is the highest death toll of journalists since tracking began in 1992, making it the most lethal and dangerous conflict for the press.

But danger for journalists is not limited to hazardous reporting environments such as conflicts. It is frequently reported that journalists face daily risks including surveillance, arrests, violence, and threats. This article looks at what kinds of threats journalists face, why they are exposed to them, and what measures are being taken.

A protest in the United States over a Palestinian journalist killed by the Israeli military in 2022 (Photo: Peg Hunter / Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0])

Threats journalists face

According to CPJ’s research, from the start of tracking in 1992 through June 2024, at least 1,787 journalists and media workers, including those missing (Note 1), have been killed because of their work.

CPJ’s data show that through 2023, the highest journalist death tolls since tracking began are in Iraq, Syria, the Philippines, Palestine, Somalia, Pakistan, Mexico, Algeria, India, and Russia, in that order—making these the 10 most dangerous places for journalists.

CPJ also reports that from 1992 to 2023, even when cases do not end in killings, authorities have reported 2,223 arrests of journalists on charges such as espionage, inciting protests, or publishing false information. Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Without Borders: RSF), an NGO devoted to defending freedom of expression, says 575 journalists and media workers are currently detained (as of July 2024). CPJ’s data also show that over the same period, arrests were most numerous in China, Turkey, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, Vietnam, Egypt, Ethiopia, Cuba, and Syria.

Beyond killings and arrests, many journalists face routine obstruction. For example, journalists covering an opposition event ahead of general elections had their cameras and microphones confiscated, while others were subjected to online harassment including sexist and misogynistic slurs and threats of sexual and physical violence. In just one month (June 1–30, 2024), CPJ reported 37 incidents of abuses against journalists of these types and more. Around the world, journalists work every day side by side with such threats.

A journalist sprayed with pepper spray while covering a protest, Hong Kong (Photo: Subtle Production / Flickr [CC BY-SA 2.0])

Journalists who are killed

As noted at the outset, since 2023 many journalists in Israel-Palestine have been caught up in the conflict and killed, but CPJ’s 30 years of data show even higher tolls in Iraq, Syria, and the Philippines. The high tolls in Iraq and Syria are rooted in years of armed conflict. This section looks at several of the countries with relatively high numbers of killings and explores the causes, focusing in particular on Somalia, the Philippines, Mexico, and India to capture factors beyond war.

The Philippines has the third-highest cumulative number of journalists killed over the past 30 years, after Iraq and Syria. Many Filipino journalists lost their lives in a 2009 massacre—the single incident with the highest journalist death toll since CPJ began keeping records. On November 23, 2009, as provincial politician Esmael Mangudadatu prepared to run for governor of Maguindanao, his family and supporters were traveling to the provincial capital, Shariff Aguak, to file his candidacy papers. Because the filing drew major media attention, many media workers accompanied the convoy. The group was ambushed, and 58 people, including 30 journalists, were killed.

Andal Ampatuan Jr., son of the sitting provincial governor and mayor of Datu Unsay in Maguindanao, was named as the suspect; ten years after the incident, a court finally convicted him and other key defendants of murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment. Although the journalists were not directly targeted because of their work, they became victims of a long-standing feud among political dynasties vying for dominance in the region.

In Somalia, many journalists have been killed by shootings and bombings. Journalists there are often caught up in fighting between armed groups or in attacks by insurgents against the government. According to the National Union of Somali Journalists (The National Union of Somali Journalists: NUSOJ), more than 50 journalists were killed in such attacks between 2012 and 2022.

For example, in a car bombing claimed by the insurgent group Al-Shabab on October 29, 2022 that killed more than 100 people, one journalist was killed in the blast. Three journalists who rushed to the scene after the first explosion were severely wounded by a second blast soon afterward. For more on the situation in Somalia, see GNV’s previous article.

In Mexico, over the past two decades more than 61 journalists have been killed and another 30 have gone missing, making it the country with the highest number of missing journalists in the world.

One of the threats facing journalists in Mexico is government officials. Many have been targeted for reporting on corruption by local politicians and government personnel. It is said that around 60% of attacks on media workers are committed by government officials. For example, in April 2024 a journalist who had reported critically on local governance was kidnapped by an armed group and killed despite a ransom being paid. Even those working for national outlets often receive inadequate protection, while local journalists are in an even weaker position and face a higher risk.

A second major threat is violence linked to criminal organizations. As of 2023, at least 70 armed groups were operating in Mexico, and organized violence is widespread. Reporters and camera operators who tried to cover these groups have been kidnapped, tortured, and killed to silence them. Criminal groups are also said to collude with politicians and officials to evade prosecution—or, conversely, officials may pass off their own crimes as killings by criminal groups to escape punishment, as reported.

Despite the large number of journalists killed in Mexico, very few cases result in convictions, and the impunity rate is said to be 95%. As this high impunity rate indicates, the lack of investigation and punishment for the killing of journalists is cited as a major reason authorities fail to protect them from violence.

Portraits of slain journalists, United States (Photo: Drew Geraets / Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0])

In India, as in Mexico, organized crime groups and government officials endanger journalists. Between 2014 and 2023, 28 journalists were killed. Of those 28, at least 13 were found to have been working primarily on environmental issues such as land seizures and illegal mining for industrial purposes, according to RSF. RSF reported that several of those killed were targeted because they tried to investigate the “sand mafia,” an organized crime network that illegally extracts sand to feed the rapidly growing construction industry. The sand mafia is said to have close ties with politicians and is often protected by them, meaning violence against journalists is rarely punished. For more on the sand mafia, see GNV’s previous article.

Another organized crime group, known as the “liquor mafia,” also poses a threat to journalists in India. After alcohol sales were banned in Bihar in 2016, the production and distribution of illegal alcohol became rampant. Of the journalists who reported on and investigated the liquor mafia behind this illegal trade, at least two have been killed to silence them and intimidate the media.

Attacks on journalists beyond killings: arrests

As noted above, even when cases do not end in killings, journalists often face a range of daily threats.

One such threat is arrest on the basis of their work. Over the five years from 2018 to 2023, at least one journalist in 86 countries was detained in connection with their work. The true figure may be higher due to unpublicized or secret detentions. Imprisonment of journalists is often used to prevent the circulation of information inconvenient to those in power, according to RSF. Below are several countries with high numbers of arrests.

China is the world’s largest jailer of journalists; in the study cited above, 44 of 320 were imprisoned in China. In Hong Kong, since the 2020 National Security Law took effect, pro-democracy journalists have been arrested under the law for alleged collusion with foreign forces. Journalists may be held on national security charges such as espionage, inciting separatism, or attempting to overthrow state power.

Arrests of journalists also grew markedly in Türkiye in 2023. Citing a disinformation law issued in 2022, the government arrested, jailed, and prosecuted journalists covering the February earthquakes and the May parliamentary and presidential elections. Although the justice minister at the time argued the law would apply only in cases of “disruption of public order or attacks on social peace,” the vague definition allows broad interpretation and has been used as a basis to arrest journalists, critics say.

Arrests also threaten journalists in democracies where freedom of expression appears to be relatively protected. WikiLeaks (WikiLeaks) founder Julian Assange was charged under U.S. espionage-related statutes and, despite not having been convicted, spent more than five years from 2019 in Belmarsh, a high-security U.K. prison that houses many serious offenders. In June 2024 he reached a plea deal and was released. As this shows, arrests of people engaged in reporting are used in many countries as a means of persecuting journalists. For more on WikiLeaks and Assange, see GNV’s previous article and podcast.

Attacks on journalists beyond killings: surveillance and harassment

Beyond arrests, attacks on journalists often take the form of everyday threats such as surveillance and harassment.

State monitoring and restriction of online spaces is intensifying. Technological advances have produced spyware that makes it easier and cheaper for those in power to surveil journalists. For example, “Pegasus,” a smartphone intrusion tool developed by an Israeli cyber firm, is sold ostensibly to aid investigations into crime and terrorism, but has in fact been used by governments to spy on journalists, as revealed. Sold only to governments with the approval of Israel’s defense ministry, its main customers reportedly include 10 countries: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Media reports say Pegasus can silently exfiltrate all information from a smartphone and remotely activate the camera and microphone to watch a journalist’s actions in real time without their knowledge.

A journalist taking photos during a press conference, Mexico (Photo: International Transport Forum / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0])

Arrest and surveillance also often occur in sequence. Journalists released after serving sentences have been found to remain under surveillance. For more on the technologies and laws surrounding journalism, see GNV’s previous article.

Many journalists report routine online harassment. Journalists often use social media to engage with audiences, but in connection with their work they may be targeted online by hostile groups or individuals with harassment. Women journalists are more frequently targets of abuse and sexist, misogynistic hate speech. They may also face doxing—the unauthorized publication of personal information such as phone numbers and addresses—and see online attacks escalate into physical assault. Harassment and discrimination can cause psychological trauma and emotional stress that lower motivation. Some journalists are already considering leaving the profession entirely because of online abuse.

What measures are being taken?

In response to these threats, various institutions around the world have introduced measures.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) runs the International Programme for the Development of Communication (International Programme for the Development of Communication: IPD), which supports projects each year to develop local media, training, and research in low-income countries and those in or emerging from conflict. In 2012, at the request of its intergovernmental council, the program formulated a plan of action on the safety of journalists and the issue of impunity for crimes against them. Under the plan, more than 45 countries provided funding for protection projects, and a partnership was concluded with the International Association of Chiefs of Police. As a result, over 10 years some 1,300 advocacy events were held, and protection mechanisms for journalists were established in at least 50 countries. UNESCO also documents cases through initiatives such as the Observatory of Killed Journalists (Observatory of Killed Journalists), monitoring, reporting on, and condemning attacks on journalists and impunity for such violence. Every few years the project issues international documents to urge governments to address the threats journalists face.

World Press Freedom Day event, UN Headquarters (Photo: CPJ Photos / Flickr [CC BY 2.0])

Beyond international organizations, some countries are acting at the national level. In the UK, for example, the government has worked since 2021 on a National Action Plan for the Safety of Journalists, which includes strengthening the criminal justice response to crimes against journalists in the UK, supporting measures to protect the safety of journalists and their employers, and legal action against and demands on online platforms regarding harassment.

Mexico, where crimes against journalists are extremely frequent, also implements government programs to protect journalists. Measures include appointing a special federal prosecutor for crimes against freedom of expression and providing threatened journalists with personal protective equipment, bodyguards, and panic buttons, among other steps outlined. However, these protections are insufficient, and refusals by the government to grant protection requests have increased since 2020.

Protection at the national level sometimes extends beyond borders. Journalists who flee their home governments’ threats may continue their reporting in exile. In 2015, a military coup in Burundi and subsequent arson attacks by the government on independent media offices forced many journalists into exile, silencing the press at home. Exiled journalists, however, continued reporting and publishing across the border, primarily from Rwanda, and kept working. Another example is El Faro in El Salvador, which moved its legal and administrative operations to Costa Rica to avoid government harassment and continued its reporting.

Civil society is also active. As noted above, organizations such as CPJ and RSF, along with many other NGOs worldwide, monitor, report on, and condemn threats to journalists. Beyond preventive measures, the nonprofit Forbidden Stories (Forbidden Stories) enables journalists in safe locations to continue and publish the work of colleagues facing threats or at risk of being killed. The network includes 17 news organizations and more than 80 journalists around the world, ensuring that collaborative reporting continues and hidden information reaches a global audience.

Journalists participating in a rehearsal for a nonviolent demonstration, United States (Photo: Geoff Livingston / Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0])

Conclusion

As we have seen, because governments themselves often threaten journalists, government-centered solutions can be difficult. There has been some progress, however. According to a report by UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication, the impunity rate for attacks on journalists fell from 95% to 86% between 2012 and 2022, as reported.

Despite facing many threats, journalism plays an essential social role, including holding power to account. How much will the situation improve from here? Continued attention to both the threats and the countermeasures is needed.

Note 1: Including those whose motive for death is unknown, 2,402 journalists and media workers have been killed.

Writer: Hazuki Yamamoto

Graphics: Virgil Hawkins

Follow @GNV_tweets