World Press Freedom: Journalism Under Digital Siege.

The theme for this year's World Press Freedom Day, celebrated every year on May 3, is ‘Journalism Under Digital Siege’. The theme this year highlights the increasing surveillance, online harassment, data storage vulnerabilities and digital attacks including hacking on journalists.

The World Press Freedom Day 2022 (WPFD), is being hosted by UNESCO together with the Government of Uruguay. The four-day conference World Press Freedom Day 2022 (WPFD) which began May 2, also aims to put the spotlight on ‘the associated challenges to media visibility in digital times and threat to public trusts that arise from surveillance and digitally-mediated attacks on journalists and the consequence of all this on public trust in digital communications.

The UNESCO In its reference to ‘Threats that Silence: Trends in the safety of Journalist’, in its theme message, underline that “Surveillance can expose information gathered by journalists including from whistle-blowers and violates the principle source protection.” It also notes the case of spyware pegasus surveillance as an example.

While spyware, surveillance and other digital attacks are increasingly recognized as serious threats to journalism, many journalists do not have adequate access to or knowledge of digital tools that can help protect them The ‘Threats that Silence: Trends in the safety of Journalist’ further remarks.

Privacy is a prerequisite for journalists to do their work and ensure our access to fact-based and reliable information. It is necessary if they are to communicate freely with sources, receive confidential information, investigate corruption and guarantee the safety of themselves and their sources, the UNESCO in its theme message notes. 

AI-powered surveillance of journalistic movements and trolling of journalists powered by data mining and automated attacks also threaten the free exercise of journalism. UNESCO theme further notes. 

World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO's General Conference. Since then, on 3 May, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek is celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day.