2025 Concordia Annual Summit

On the Brink? Is Media Freedom at Risk? A Global Perspective on Press Freedom

  • Advancing Human Rights & Social Progress
Jared Genser, H.E. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Joshua Keating, Laura Manley, Jodie Ginsberg

Session
Partners

Session Summary

Important
Quotations

"Six out of ten countries in the world have seen a decline in press freedom in the last year alone. In Asia, 20 out of 32 countries have experienced backsliding in press freedom over the same period."
Jared Genser
"Any dictatorship starts by putting pressure on the media. During our uprising, the first group targeted was journalists, because the regime did not want the world to see what was happening in Belarus."
H.E. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya
"We are gathered today in a moment of crisis for the media globally. In 2024, we saw a record number of journalists killed around the world. Based on the numbers collected by Jodie’s organization, 2025 does not look much more promising."
Joshua Keating
"Today, globally, 56 percent of news consumers get their information and understanding of the world from social media. YouTube is the fastest-growing platform, where more people go for news than any combination of cable and network television."
Laura Manley
"At least eight out of ten journalist murders go unpunished. This creates an environment in which governments and others in power feel they can literally get away with murder."
Jodie Ginsberg

Key
Takeaways

  • Global Crisis Context: The media landscape faces an unprecedented crisis. In 2024, we witnessed record numbers of journalists killed worldwide, with 2025 showing no improvement. Most critically, six out of 10 countries globally experienced press freedom decline in just the past year, with 20 out of 32 Asian countries experiencing backsliding.
  • Systemic Threats: Media is typically the first target when democracies crumble, serving as a leading indicator of authoritarian drift. This manifests through strategic litigation against journalists, with eight out of 10 journalist murders going unpunished, and record numbers of journalists imprisoned worldwide. Governments also employ economic warfare, including withdrawal of funding and declaring outlets as “extremist” to prevent advertising revenue.
  • Digital Transformation Opportunities: 56% of global news consumers now get information from social media, with YouTube becoming the fastest-growing news platform. This shift creates opportunities for independent content creators developing authentic audience connections and AI enhancing newsroom efficiency through transcription and analysis tools.
  • Media in Exile: For completely suppressed countries, exile media operations provide crucial lifelines. In Belarus, 60-70% of exile media consumers are inside the country, despite detention risks for accessing “extremist” content.

Action
Items

  • For Governments and Policymakers: Enact anti-SLAPP laws to stop abusive lawsuits against journalists, ensure media regulators operate free from political interference, and end impunity by prosecuting crimes against the press; establish emergency and long-term funding for independent media, and set an example by using respectful language toward journalists—since rhetoric from democratic leaders is often echoed by repressive regimes.
  • For Media Organizations and Platforms: Broaden the definition of journalism to include independent creators and new platforms, use AI to boost efficiency under human oversight, increase transparency in algorithmic content decisions, and reinforce safeguards against coordinated digital attacks or takedown campaigns.
  • For Civil Society and Consumers: Support local journalism financially, engage offline to rebuild community trust, verify information across diverse sources, and recognize that media literacy alone cannot counter sophisticated algorithmic manipulation—platform accountability and regulatory frameworks are equally essential.
  • For International Community: Take diplomatic and economic action against states that suppress media, provide support to media-in-exile organizations serving censored populations, restore funding for global outlets like Radio Free Asia, and fight against the spread of “zones of silence” where free reporting becomes impossible.

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