Around the world, journalists are killed, intimidated, harassed and imprisoned; and according to the United Nations, 33 journalists were killed in the year 2021, only in Mexico there were 8 murders, while access to the Internet and social networks is restricted in many countries and disinformation and propaganda campaigns fill the platforms.
In addition, public opinion about the media and journalism is at its lowest point, say experts on the subject, gathered in the videoconference “ Journalists in the crosshairs: the war against information”, organized by Ethnic Media Services.
Carlos Martínez de la Serna, director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said that wherever that there is a crisis, governments pass laws to control information and file charges for false news.
“We are seeing numbers record of journalists in prison or murdered around the world. Generally, those who are most at risk are journalists who investigate corruption, and specifically political corruption.”
He explained that a new trend identified is that last year, there were at least 47 journalists in jail, charged with false news.
And highlighted that as a result of the global crisis and the attacks on journalists, there is a growing community of journalists in exile.
“For example, we have hundreds of journalists from Nicaragua reporting outside their country, and that is happening in Ukraine”.
In conclusion, Martínez de la Serna said that wherever there is a crisis, there is a war against journalists and against information.
Ricardo Trotti , director of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA), said that in Latin America, crimes against journalists continue to be one of the biggest problems.
“In 2021 they have been murdered 12 journalists, 8 in Mexico, 2 in Haiti, another in Honduras, and one more in Guatemala”.
Indicated that the main causes of murder have to do with generalized violence, organized crime, drug trafficking in alliance with some corrupt officials, or environmental terrorism.
“To this must be added impunity, which reaches 90% of the cases. We have to consider that prevention almost does not exist”.
And he explained that many of the murders of journalists occur inside of countries where there is corruption, or the government is less present.
“Furthermore, the protection systems do not work, or are very weak, and they do not have sufficient human and economic resources to operate.”
He mentioned that the few access to public information in many countries makes it very difficult to fight against corruption, violence and poverty.
“ Another widespread problem is the lack of media resources in the last two decades, which has been aggravated by the pandemic, and as we know, advertising revenues have migrated to the big platforms”.
Therefore, he said that it is estimated that 55% of the cities in the interior of Colombia, do not have local journalism, as well as three quarters of Argentina and 01 million in Brazil.
“In other words, I would say that we are before a Molotov cocktail that can explode in our hands because a society without local journalism they cannot monitor their governments”.
Ruslan Gurzhiy, editor-in-chief of the Russian news system SlavicSac in California, said the war in the Ukraine really started in 2015.
“Little do you know that it didn’t start a few months ago. It has been for a while. I have been in that war zone in eastern Ukraine and I have witnessed it with my own eyes. I have taken many pictures and videos”.
He said he is half Ukrainian because his father is from Crimea, the peninsula that was taken by Russia in 1014.
“I have experienced many threats as a Russian-speaking journalist here in California since 2014, because we have done investigations into corruption in Russia, Ukraine and the United States.”
He added that in the Sacramento region, people from Ukraine and Russia that lives there is very connected with their countries, but the problem with the Russian diaspora and the Ukrainian diaspora here in California is that they cannot defend themselves.
“Some of our people, they don’t speak English. When we go to the police, they say who you are. Why should I protect you here in California? This is the problem”.
Jeremy Goldkorn, editor-in-chief of SupChina , said he is South African, but lived 20 years in China, where he worked as a journalist, and in the last 7 years he has lived in the United States, writing about Asian country issues.
“The environment for journalists in China is as repressive as it has been since the 80. This applies to foreign press as well as Chinese journalists while Chinese independent journalism has actually been shut down by the government. It does not exist”.
However, he mentioned that he does 20 years, investigative journalism was flourishing, and there was a lot of hope in the Chinese journalist community about the possibilities for the future.
What we have now , he said, is basically propaganda that supports the government.
“It is a difficult time. The Chinese government has expelled most of the bureaus of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times312259998. Foreign journalists are harassed all the time”.
He said there is a growing feeling of nationalism online that has worsened with the covid pandemic-19 among the people of China.
“Not because the government has asked them to, but because they themselves think that the foreign journalists are distorting the image of China”.
He said that if you are a journalist in China, you are in jail, you have left the profession or basically you are writing press releases.