{"id":19431,"date":"2024-05-05T11:09:08","date_gmt":"2024-05-05T11:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/?p=19431"},"modified":"2024-05-05T11:09:08","modified_gmt":"2024-05-05T11:09:08","slug":"di-peasey-nuj-speech-on-killing-of-journalists-in-gaza-by-israeli-forces-and-elsewhere-mayday-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/archives\/19431","title":{"rendered":"Di Peasey NUJ Speech on killing of Journalists in Gaza by Israeli Forces and elsewhere, MayDay 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Di Peasey NUJ Speech on killing of Journalists in Gaza by Israeli Forces and elsewhere, MayDay 2024\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LMBkDFe6Dsw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Di Peasey NUJ Speech on killing of Journalists in Gaza by Israeli Forces and elsewhere, Nottingham Mayday Rally, 4th May 2024 Insta360 Ace Pro &#8211; 4K Video 3840 x2160             <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/hashtag\/cuts\">#cuts<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/hashtag\/nottingham\">#nottingham<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/hashtag\/nuj\">#NUJ<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/hashtag\/unions\">#unions<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/hashtag\/protest\">#protest<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/hashtag\/insta360\">#insta360<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/hashtag\/acepro\">#acepro<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/hashtag\/4k\">#4k<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Attacks on press freedom around the world are intensifying, index reveals<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>In the past year, in virtually every region, journalists and independent media outlets faced increasing repression<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/profile\/anniekelly\">Annie Kelly<\/a> Fri 3 May 2024 05.00 BST<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Political attacks on press freedom, including the detention of journalists, suppression of independent media outlets and widespread dissemination of misinformation, have significantly intensified in the past year, according to the annual World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The index ranks 180 countries on the ability of journalists to work and report freely and independently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a year when more than&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2024\/mar\/06\/elections-vote-women-gender-equality-leadership-harassment\">half the world\u2019s population will go to the polls<\/a>&nbsp;in democratic elections, the RSF\u2019s index shows an overall decline in press freedom globally and a steep rise in the political repression of journalists and independent media outlets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cRSF sees a worrying decline in support and respect for media autonomy and an increase in pressure from the state or other political actors,\u201d said Anne Bocand\u00e9, RSF editorial director. \u201cStates and other political forces are playing a decreasing role in protecting press freedom. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Quick Guide<\/strong> Press Freedom<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/series\/world-press-freedom-day-2024\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/support.theguardian.com\/uk\/contribute\"><\/a>The Maghreb and Middle East regions performed the worst in terms of restrictions on press freedom by government forces, according to the report. In the past year, said RSF, governments across the region have attempted to control and curtail the media through violence, arrests and draconian laws, compounded by \u201csystematic impunity for crimes of violence against journalists\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The RSF says that, since October 2023, more than&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cpj.org\/2024\/04\/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict\/\">100 Palestinian reporters have been killed<\/a>&nbsp;by in Gaza, including at least 22 in the course of their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\" id=\"4c8c0a96-298e-43a3-ad4b-fba016310b80\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/article\/2024\/may\/03\/attacks-on-press-freedom-around-the-world-are-intensifying-index-reveals?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR28CmIserGxh6Fk5aPnm81-5BhacfqsYHA5j3GPUqVlLKZcXEpuKAHmv6o_aem_Abj5G8Zk-ZiyfuI9ktjjP81pdHqcFe4Ltq99WB2yxPgo3aVcUBqcmOrtFUqULh6QenUYdZPPIvOdBXZ2rEZZBwoy#img-2\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/7cc4860624d5708e40c0b6e97153375b8fb4e47c\/0_0_4128_2752\/master\/4128.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Members of the press in the Gaza Strip, carry banners reading \u2018the press is free and cannot be silenced\u2019 during a demonstration due to being targeted by the Israeli army\" style=\"width:670px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Members of the press carry banners that read: \u2018The press is free and cannot be silenced\u2019 in a protest over the Israeli army, in Rafah, Gaza, January 2024.&nbsp;Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Elsewhere in the region,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/rsf.org\/en\/those-who-killed-woman-journalist-sudan-must-be-held-account\">journalists have been killed in Sudan<\/a>, where there have been serious attempts to curb independent reporting of violence and civil war. The situation for media professionals in Syria has also deteriorated, with journalists who have fled press repression in their home country<a href=\"https:\/\/rsf.org\/en\/rsf-asks-turkish-government-protect-syrian-refugee-journalists\">&nbsp;threatened with expulsion<\/a>&nbsp;from neighbouring Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. The RSF also says that four of the world\u2019s biggest jailers of journalists \u2013 Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran \u2013 have continued to attack and detain them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The RSF says that Latin America is also showing alarming indicators of political repression of journalism. In Argentina, the new president, Javier Milei, has boasted about his assault on the free press and has&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/argentine-state-news-agency-telam-shut-after-milei-threat-2024-03-04\/\">shut down the country\u2019s biggest new agency<\/a>. Press freedom is also under sustained political attack in Peru and El Salvador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The US has performed badly due to increasing attacks on journalists from political officials, including&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pressfreedomtracker.us\/blog\/members-of-the-press-charged-with-committing-acts-of-journalism-in-2023\/\">public calls to imprison reporters.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elections in sub-Saharan Africa saw violence against journalists fuelled by political attacks on media freedom.<a href=\"https:\/\/cpj.org\/2023\/08\/armed-men-attack-nigerian-journalists-covering-clashes-in-bayelsa-state\/\">&nbsp;In Nigeria nearly 20 reporters were attacked<\/a>&nbsp;in early 2023, and in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/rsf.org\/en\/journalists-attacked-run-presidential-election-madagascar\">Madagascar, reporters were targeted&nbsp;<\/a>while covering pre-election protests. More recently, Burkino Faso has suspended dozens of foreign news organisations, including the Guardian, over reporting of an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2024\/apr\/25\/220-civilians-burkina-faso-human-rights-watch-killings-two-villages\">alleged massacre<\/a>&nbsp;of hundreds of civilians by the Burkinabe army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Europe, the index showed Russia dropping down the ranks of countries mounting attacks on press freedom for what the RSF terms its \u201ccrusade\u201d against independent journalism.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.euractiv.com\/section\/media4eu\/news\/rsf-chief-russian-journalists-exodus-comparable-to-that-of-bolshevik-regime\/\">More than 1,500 Russian journalists<\/a>&nbsp;have fled abroad since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\" id=\"0d20546d-091f-4ae9-9e4c-07e3e69ff70c\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/article\/2024\/may\/03\/attacks-on-press-freedom-around-the-world-are-intensifying-index-reveals?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR28CmIserGxh6Fk5aPnm81-5BhacfqsYHA5j3GPUqVlLKZcXEpuKAHmv6o_aem_Abj5G8Zk-ZiyfuI9ktjjP81pdHqcFe4Ltq99WB2yxPgo3aVcUBqcmOrtFUqULh6QenUYdZPPIvOdBXZ2rEZZBwoy#img-3\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/6501801e089acfbe8b2abad0d0c9c9c98aa826a5\/0_0_5008_3338\/master\/5008.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Journalist Antonina Favorskaya, who filmed the last video of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny before he died, is escorted into a Moscow courtroom last month.\" style=\"width:670px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Journalist Antonina Favorskaya, who filmed the last video of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny before he died, is escorted into a Moscow courtroom last month.&nbsp;Photograph: Dmitry Serebryakov\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarus\u2019s position near the bottom of the RSF\u2019s index is due to the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.freepressunlimited.org\/en\/countries\/belarus\">persistent persecution of journalists<\/a>&nbsp;under the pretext of combating \u201cextremism\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week, a report by the German-based Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) warned that&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/2024\/apr\/29\/media-freedom-perilously-close-breaking-point-several-eu-countries\">press freedom is \u201cperilously close to breaking point\u201d<\/a>&nbsp;in several European countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\" id=\"6e0c2f70-e14e-4ba6-8e3d-502a827f805f\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2024\/may\/01\/chinas-authorities-erase-memory-white-paper-protests-in-tightening-of-censorship-press-freedom\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/902724a006fbdb3bb613d6d4ed9a2561cee59f80\/0_396_6048_3628\/master\/6048.jpg?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A police officer points a finger at the photographer as a man and woman hug in a large crowd of protesters and police\" style=\"width:667px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Repression of the free press also worsened in the<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>Asia-Pacific region. The RSF says that the region\u2019s dictatorial governments have been tightening their hold over news and information with \u201cincreasing vigour\u201d in countries such as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cpj.org\/2023\/08\/two-years-into-taliban-rule-media-repression-worsens-in-afghanistan\/\">Afghanistan,<\/a>&nbsp;where the Taliban have all but destroyed independent journalism, and North Korea and China\u2019s \u201call-out persecution\u201d of local media.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2023\/04\/vietnam-independent-journalist-nguyen-lan-thang-facing-up-to-12-years-in-prison\/\">Vietnam<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/rsf.org\/en\/myanmar-junta-imposes-record-20-year-jail-sentence-photojournalist\">Myanmar&nbsp;<\/a>also fell in the rankings this year due to their pursuit of mass imprisonment of media professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The RSF also painted a bleak picture of the increasing use of artificial intelligence, calling its use in the arsenal of disinformation for political purposes \u201cdisturbing\u201d, with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk\/news\/spotting-deepfakes-year-elections-how-ai-detection-tools-work-and-where-they-fail\">deepfakes being used to influence the course of elections.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reporting on the war against nature is also proving increasingly dangerous. Forty-four journalists have been killed for covering environment stories over the past 15 years, according to a separate report by Unesco, which organises today\u2019s World Press Freedom Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/article\/2024\/may\/03\/attacks-on-press-freedom-around-the-world-are-intensifying-index-reveals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/media\/article\/2024\/may\/03\/attacks-on-press-freedom-around-the-world-are-intensifying-index-reveals<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Di Peasey NUJ Speech on killing of Journalists in Gaza by Israeli Forces and elsewhere, Nottingham Mayday Rally, 4th May 2024 Insta360 Ace Pro &#8211; 4K Video 3840 x2160 #cuts #nottingham #NUJ #unions #protest #insta360 #acepro #4k Attacks on press &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/archives\/19431\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[174,818,983,466,176,48],"class_list":["post-19431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1","tag-freedom","tag-journalists","tag-killed","tag-nuj","tag-press","tag-protest"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19432,"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19431\/revisions\/19432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanlodge.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}