Attacks on Journalists Precede Attacks on Democracy: CPJ Sounds the Alarm

The latest report from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) sends a stark warning: attacks on journalists almost always precede broader assaults on the public's right to know, institutional accountability, and the very foundations of democracy. In an interview with France 24 World, CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg emphasized that the killing of journalists is not merely an attack on those who report the news, but an attack on the public's right to information and the democratic system itself.

As the global death toll among media workers continues to rise, a deeper crisis emerges: the normalization of harassment, intimidation, and violence against journalists, coupled with the persistent failure to hold perpetrators accountable. "If killers of journalists are allowed to literally get away with murder, that creates the conditions in which we see more and more of those attacks," Ginsberg warns.

This is not just a media issue—it is a systemic threat to transparency, governance, and the rule of law. When journalists are silenced, accountability disappears, and democracy erodes. The time to act is now.

Freely curated and adapted from France 24 World coverage