Edward Steen, Vienna, June 3, 2024
Our Freedoms Depend on Press Freedom
With half the world’s population casting ballots in elections this year, independent reporting on the candidates and the issues is essential. Yet from Washington and Westminster to Buenos Aires and Budapest, efforts to intimidate, curtail, and constrain the free press are becoming more frequent and brazen.
In just the first week of this year, at least 18 journalists were assaulted or harassed while covering alleged election irregularities and violence in Bangladesh. Then, in early February, journalists in Pakistan were hindered from covering elections by a wave of violence, widespread internet blackouts, and mobile-network suspensions. In March, journalists in Turkey had been shot at and banned from observing local elections, despite their legal right to do so. See: Project Syndicate commentary