The Time Magazine 2018 Person of the Year was awarded to "The Guardians," journalists doggedly working and fighting to report the truth around the world. They do this in the face of the resistance of the corrupt and the oppression of the powerful.
In 2018, 52 journalists were murdered or executed-that we know of. Another 260 were jailed for reporting what those in power did not wish to become public. According to Freedom House, only 13% of the world's people live in countries with a press that is fully free.
Beyond that, autocrats and demagogues are growing more and more adept at using modern media tools for surveillance, spreading disinformation and surreptitious propaganda, blurring the line between fact and fiction, and eroding public trust in the media by calling it unpatriotic or fake news when its reportage does not conform to what those in power would like people to believe.
Destroying the free press has always been high on any would-be dictator's agenda for consolidating absolute power, and the contemporary world is no different. We have watched in recent years as free speech and press principles and practices have been rolled back in country after country. Among these we can include such prominent examples as Russia, Poland, Venezuela, Hungary, the Philippines, India and now even Italy.
The actions of our own president, his flacks and congressional enablers is chilling in this regard. The danger was expressed most eloquently by Sen. John McCain in one of his last editorials, which you can find linked here. Entitled "Mr. President, Stop Attacking the Press," it is worth a read by thoughtful citizens everywhere who value the dream of human freedom anywhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment