World Press Trends Outlook 2024–2025: Media and Press Freedom
In this report extract, we examine the state of media and press freedom around the world, and highlight some of the key issues to emerge over the past year.
This is an extract from WAN-IFRA’s World Press Trends Outlook 2024–2025 report. You can read the previously published Executive Summary here, alongside a chapter diving deeper into revenue strategies.
Press freedom continues to face mounting challenges. This takes a myriad of different forms, a finding reinforced by the insights shared with us by our survey respondents.
Attacks on many fronts
More than half of participants (52%) indicated that their organization, or people within it, had been subjected to online harassment. A similar number (51%) shared that they had been recipients of cyber-attacks.
In September, Agence France-Presse (AFP), one of the world’s leading news agencies, fell victim to a significant cyberattack. In a statement they commented that this affected “part of its delivery service to clients,” and that “it is not yet known who carried out this attack or why.” The company worked with the French National Agency for IT Systems Security (ANSSI) to help restore operations.
Earlier in the year, Poland’s state news agency PAP was also hit by a cyberattack, which government ministers suggested might have been led by Russia. As part of this attack, hackers published a false story on the PAP newswire stating that the country was mobilizing 200,000 men to fight in the war in Ukraine. On X, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk commented on the timing of the attack by saying that this represented “another very dangerous hacker attack which well illustrates Russia’s destabilization strategy on the eve of the European elections.”
In terms of harassment, both online and in person, the Coalition For Women In Journalism has highlighted examples of the challenges that journalists can face. Commenting on the experience of Lola Del Carril, an Argentine journalist for ESPN and others, they shared how “the reporter has been subjected to a vicious online harassment campaign for her work.”
Pointing to a “toxic online environment,” they stress how targeted attacks and cyberbullying against women in sports media “undermines the professionalism and credibility of these journalists, creates barriers to their success, and contributes to a hostile work environment.”
Our survey numbers — in terms of the level of online harassment and cyber-attacks experienced by media outlets — were similar to last year. In 2023, 56% of our survey respondents told us that staff within their company had endured online harassment (vs. 52% this year). Similarly, just under half of participants (47%) last year pointed to cyber-attacks on their outlet (compared to 51% from our latest survey).
However, in other areas, we saw some shifts. Our sample in 2024 indicated that they were less likely to be impacted by legal intimidations in the past year (38% in 2024 vs. 44% in 2023).
They also indicated that physical harassment and violence is on the rise. Among our 2023 sample, just 10% said that this has been something witnessed at their company in the previous 12 months. For our 2024 respondents, that figure had jumped to 26%.
Reasons for this increase may include growing political polarisation, continued anti-media rhetoric by politicians (potentially emboldening attacks by the public and by others), increased coverage — in a major election year — of protests, political rallies and events with a heightened risk of physical confrontation. We have also witnessed increased physical violence in some markets from law enforcement, resulting in physical attacks, detentions, and arrests of journalists.
In the USA, for example, data from a survey conducted by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) found that 37.7% of respondents reported being threatened with, or had experienced, physical violence while working as a journalist. By the end of November 2024, the Freedom of the Press Foundation had recorded 77 assaults on journalists in the USA this year.
Multiple journalists covering protests in the country of Georgia this spring reported that they were attacked by the police. In many cases equipment was damaged and injuries were sustained, part of a pattern of recent attacks in the country in recent years.
On occasion, journalists endure multiple threats. PEN America points to how staff at The Haitian Times, which is based in Brooklyn (New York) and covers the Haitian diaspora, were doxxed after debunking anti-immigrant conspiracy theories related to Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. Later, the paper’s editor found police outside their home following false reports that a murder had taken place at their address. As researchers writing in The Conversation noted, this type of practice is known as “swatting.” They describe this as “an intimidation tactic that involves calling the police or SWAT team to a private residence under false pretenses, often in retaliation for speech, and it has resulted in several deaths.”
“We strongly condemn the intimidation of the staff of the Haitian Times,” PEN America said in a statement. “Swatting, which combines the threat of physical harm with online abuse, is a severe intimidation tactic and must be understood as a direct and deliberate threat to press freedom.
Commenting on the same case, and sharing principles applicable to journalists and journalism worldwide, Viktorya Vilk, digital safety director at PEN America, argued that:
“If journalists are unable to cover politics without fear of physical reprisal, their absence will create a void in which mis- and disinformation thrive — a threat that is magnified during a contentious election season.”
Interestingly, the level of threats from Government remains similar (27% in 2024 vs 24% in 2023), our survey respondent told us, although some organisations have seen different trendlines. Reporters Without Borders (RSF), for example, recounted earlier this year that “press freedom around the world is being threatened by the very people who should be its guarantors — political authorities.”
Commenting on this during the publication of the 2024 World Press Freedom report, RSF Editorial Director Anne Bocandé cautioned that “states and other political forces are playing a decreasing role in protecting press freedom.
They went on to explain that “this disempowerment sometimes goes hand in hand with more hostile actions that undermine the role of journalists, or even instrumentalise the media through campaigns of harassment or disinformation.” “Journalism worthy of that name is, on the contrary, a necessary condition for any democratic system and the exercise of political freedoms,” they added.
The Global Picture
RSF’s report points to a declining level of media freedom in much of the world, reinforcing many of our own findings. The study found that the percentage of countries with “satisfactory” press conditions had decreased from 36% in 2023 to 21% in 2024.
In the United States, commentators reflected on how the country had slid down RSF’s rankings in recent years.
“Once considered a bastion for free expression, the U.S. is now on par with developing countries that have few resources or protections dedicated to journalism, including Belize, Ivory Coast and Ghana,” Axios observed.
The USA has witnessed a discernible decline in press freedom, driven by economic pressures and political polarization. It is now placed in 55th place in RSF’s latest press freedom index.
More than a third (38%) of our sample indicated that they had seen legal attacks and intimidation in the past year, and globally, legal frameworks continue to be used as a means to suppress media freedom.
The Public Media Alliance warned about how laws introduced in Pakistan to curb “disinformation”, “cybercrimes” and “spying”, could be used “to harass journalists and impose censorship.” The country also shut down X for nearly 9 months, on the basis of national security concerns at the time of February’s election. Alongside this, Al Jazeera reported that journalists in the country had also been told not to cover PTI, the party of the imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
These tactics are not unique to Pakistan, as laws around the world are used to stifle the work of journalists and reduce opportunities for public discourse. As part of this, social networks may be shut down (X was also shut down in Brazil for a period of time) or throttled, and pressure is put on journalists about what they can, and cannot, report. That pressure might include reduced access to sources and events, as well as more physical and online intimidations.
Concerns around media capture also abound. A new report on media in Greece underscores the lack of media plurality in the country. The Greek media landscape is characterized by what the International Press Institute (IPI) and the Media and Journalism Research Center (MJRC) describe as “a high concentration of media in the hands of wealthy families with close political ties, particularly the New Democracy party.”
Underpinning the media freedom landscape is sobering data about the very real risks that many journalists face while doing their job. At the time of writing, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has identified 74 journalists killed in 2024. Many of these have been in the Middle East, covering the war in Gaza. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) notes that nearly 150 journalists have lost their lives there since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023, including 136 Palestinian journalists and media workers.
Looking Ahead
As we cast our eye to the New Year, many of the troubling issues which have negatively impacted media and press freedom in 2024 look set to continue. The media landscape remains rife with threats against journalists, deployment of regulatory and legal actions to constrain reporting and research, as well as wider impacts driven by disinformation campaigns, distrust in media, and ongoing economic and technological pressures. All of these elements impact the free flow of information and the ability of journalists to do their job without impunity.
In response, there are a number of things that can be done. Here are three of them.
- Funding
Sweden is just one country that has increased its financial support for organisations working to protect journalists and human rights. In doing so, they have called on others to do the same.
On World Press Freedom Day 2024, the Swedish Government issued a statement noting that “today, 71% of the world’s population lives in autocracies… Ten years ago, the corresponding figure was 48%.”
They drew a direct line between this and issues related to freedom of expression, arguing that “the threat to free and independent media is greater today than ten years ago.” Yet, “support to the media sector has fallen globally and currently accounts for only 0.5% of global aid.”
“This is not sustainable,” they contended, going on to say, “we all have a choice between just watching a development where free speech is increasingly restricted, or doing what we can to protect it.”
2. Public Engagement
The media, civil society, and other actors must continue to stress why journalism matters and its impact if independent journalism disappears or its ability to operate freely is reduced.
To help emphasize this, South Africa’s Daily Maverick intentionally shut down for a day this spring, in a bid to highlight the news and information crisis being felt around the world. In doing this, they followed a model that other outlets have also followed over the years.
Other media channels, like Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based NGO which was founded in 2017, have specifically been set-up to keep stories alive after the journalists covering them have been silenced.
As they explain: “It is vital for our democracies that a counterbalancing force like the press can investigate and expose environmental crimes, corruption, surveillance, organized crime, disinformation, and human rights violations.” “Killing the journalist won’t kill the story,” they add.
These types of campaigns and actions can help to build broader support for press freedom, encouraging communities — including politicians and other public figures — to stand up for journalists’ rights and stress the importance of a free press.
As the NGO Human Rights First has suggested, “coordinated efforts… are essential for ensuring the safety of journalists and preserving human rights globally. More communities should join in this call to action, for the integrity of our democracies, the safety of our journalists, and the preservation of human rights.” “The time to defend our freedoms is now,” they assert.
3. Training and Support
Media outlets, advocates and funders also need to do more to recognise, and respond, to attacks on journalists.
CPJ, for example, points to the “disturbing rise in online harassment, especially against women, journalists of color, LGBTQ+ reporters, and journalists who belong to religious or ethnic minorities.” They also identify how local journalists can be especially vulnerable to attacks. “Local journalists often lack the safety training and resources found in large national media outlets,” they comment, “rendering them more vulnerable to retaliation at the hands of those disgruntled with their reporting.”
Countering this through safety training, including online safety and access to protective equipment and digital tools, as well as more mechanisms for legal support such as endorsing anti-SLAPP legislation, can all play a role in helping to protect all journalists from legal, physical and online intimidation.
One such initiative, the European Anti-SLAPP Conference, recently brought together 30 speakers and over 250 participants from 25 countries, with the goal of countering SLAPPs and protecting individuals engaged in public participation from unfounded claims and abusive legal proceedings.
Advocacy efforts like this are essential in pushing back against the plethora of methods, such as SLAPPS, that are being used to stifle media freedom.
Activism efforts can further include calling for the release of incarcerated journalists, supporting reporters operating in exile, offering emergency assistance to journalists under threat, including relocation, financial aid, and psychological support, lobbying against laws and regulations which may limit a free press, as well as creating pressure by shining a spotlight on infringements of press freedom.
To safeguard press freedom, and to push for stronger media protections, stakeholders should also encourage governments to repeal laws that can criminalise journalistic work and put sources at risk. At the same time it is also incumbent on them to ensure that protections against harassment and violence directed towards journalists remain fit for purpose and are being upheld.
Preserving and strengthening media freedom is an ongoing struggle. As the threats facing journalists evolve and grow, so too must the strategies to counter them.
This requires the collective efforts of multiple stakeholders, including governments, media outlets, NGOs, funders, and the broader public. These efforts are not just about protecting journalists, they are also about protecting the public’s right to accurate, trustworthy, information, and ensuring that truth and accountability prevails over threats, intimidation and censorship.
We all have a responsibility to nurture and fight for media freedom, as well as work to sustain and maintain it. We will continue to have our work cut out to make progress, but the stakes are too high for journalists and communities, if current trend lines continue. We hope in future iterations of this report to have more positive stories and progress to share with you.
About the Author
Damian Radcliffe is a journalist, researcher, and professor based at the University of Oregon. He holds the Chambers Chair in Journalism and is a Professor of Practice, an affiliate faculty member of the Department for Middle East and North Africa Studies (MENA) and the Agora Journalism Center, and a Research Associate of the Center for Science Communication Research (SCR).
He is an expert on digital trends, social media, technology, the business of media, the evolution of present-day journalistic practice, and the role played by media and technology in the Middle East.
