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George Floyd. Dr Li Wenliang. Amy Fenton. JK Rowling. Edward Colston. Jair Bolsonaro. Donald Trump.
Love or loathe these people, the actions of each have opened a new debate in 2020. From the Black Lives Matter movement to the debate on sexuality, to the freedom of the press in the UK, to the role of Government and state actors hiding details of a public health emergency from their citizens.
If we have learnt anything at all from the turmoil that 2020 has given the world, it’s that free speech is vital; free expression is central to who we are and; that journalistic freedom is integral to the type of global society we aspire to live in.
Today, I’m joining the team at Index on Censorship as its new CEO. Index has spent the last half century providing a voice for the voiceless. Giving those who live under repressive regimes a platform to tell the world of their experiences and enabling artists to share their work with the world when they can’t share it with their neighbours.
Our work has never been more important. There have been over 200 attacks on media freedom across the globe, since the end of March this year, related to Covid-19. In the US alone there have been over 400 press freedom ‘incidents’ since the murder of George Floyd, including 58 arrests of journalists, 86 physical attacks and 52 tear gassings. In the UK, this weekend, on the streets of London we saw journalists attacked while reporting on a far-right demo in our capital.
My role in the months ahead is to highlight the threats to free speech, both in the UK and further afield, to celebrate free speech, to open a debate on what free speech should look like in the 21st century and most importantly to keep providing a platform for those people who can’t have one in their own country.
The editorial in the first edition of Index on Censorship in 1972, stated: There is a real danger… of a journal like INDEX turning into a bulletin of frustration. But then, on the other hand, there is the magnificent resilience and inexhaustible resourcefulness of the human spirit in adversity.
With you, the team at Index will continue to fight against the frustration while celebrating the magnificent resilience of the human spirit. And I can’t wait to get stuck in.
Ruth
PS Join us to protect and promote freedom of speech in the UK and across the world by making a donation.
The United States’ history of protecting free expression and defending and protecting the rights of journalists is much admired beyond U.S. borders. This is born out of a recognition that journalists serve as independent monitors of social and political developments, and are essential to democracy, transparency, and accountability.
Attacks on journalists in the U.S. threaten to undermine this commitment. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has received reports of at least 320 violations of press freedom across the country since protests demanding an end to police brutality and calling for social justice broke out on May 26. It is vital that state and local government officials take steps to ensure such violations never happen again, and that the perpetrators are held to account.
We call on you to send a clear and unambiguous message across the country and around the world about the importance of the press freedom and work of the press. Local leaders need to hear unambiguously from you that they have a responsibility to fully investigate these attacks, protect journalists, and ensure that they can work unobstructed and without fear of injury or reprisal.
Press freedom in the United States is critical to people around the world. Thousands of foreign correspondents are based in Washington D.C. and throughout the U.S., where they are tasked with telling the story of America to their publics back home. The ability of journalists to work freely in the U.S. creates a more enlightened global citizenry.
What happens in the United States also has repercussions for journalists around the world, including American correspondents. When the U.S. backslides it sends a green light to authoritarian-leaning leaders around the world to restrict the press and the free flow of information.
Authoritarian regimes in China, Iran, and Turkey have already opportunistically spoken out about the heavy-handed police tactics used here, using the crackdown on the press in this country to legitimize their own repression of independent journalism.
Instead of condemning journalists and the media, we urge you to commend and celebrate them as the embodiment of the First Amendment, which is the envy of so many countries around the world.
Sincerely,
Acclaim Nigeria Magazine (ANM)
Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC)
Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI) Indonesia
Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain
Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ)
ARTICLE 19
Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo Investigativo (Abraji)
Association for International Broadcasting
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication
Bytes 4 All
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)
Canadian Media Lawyers’ Association
Cartoonist Rights Network International (CRNI)
Centre for Law and Democracy
Centre for Media Studies and Peacebuilding (CEMESP)
Committee to Protect Journalists
Community Media Forum Europe (CMFE)
DW Akademie
Free Media Movement – Sri Lanka
Free Press Unlimited
Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI)
Fundación Gabo (Gabriel García Márquez Foundation)
Fundación para la Libertad de Prensa (FLIP)
Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD)
Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN)
Global Voices
Hong Kong Journalists Association
Independent Journalism Center
Independent Journalism Center (IJC)
Index on Censorship
Initiative for Freedom of Expression – Turkey (IFoX)
INSI – international News Safety Institute
Institute for Regional Media and Information
Instituto Prensa y Sociedad Venezuela
International Center for Journalists (ICFJ)
International Federation of Journalists
International Media Development Advisers (IMDA)
International Media Support (IMS)
International Press Institute
International Women’s Media Foundation
Internews
Media Focus International (MFI)
Media Foundation for West Africa
Media Institute Southern Africa – Zimbabwe
Media Matters for Democracy (MMFD)
Media Watch
Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA)
Metamorphosis Foundation
Newsgain
Norwegian PEN
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP)
Pacific Islands News Association (PINA)
Pakistan Press Foundation
Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA)
PEN America
PEN International
Press Union of Liberia
Project Syndicate
Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
Reporters Without Borders
Rory Peck Trust
Rural Media Network Pakistan
Samir Kassir Foundation – SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom
SembraMedia
Social Media Exchange (SMEX)
Somali Media Women Association (SOMWA).
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO)
South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM)
The Center for Independent Journalism, Romania
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)
World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA)
CC:
Vice President Michael R. Pence
Kayleigh McEnany, White House Press Secretary Ambassador
Kelly Craft, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Deputy editor of Index on Censorship magazine, Jemimah Steinfeld, writes in Eurozine about the violations the Index project to map media freedom during coronavirus is recording, and why this is so crucial.
“Mapping these abuses is of critical importance, not the least to let people and politicians know that we are watching and documenting. We need to increase awareness around the world about the challenges media professionals face during the coronavirus crisis, and to highlight the importance of media freedom.”
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Editor-in-chief of Index on Censorship magazine, Rachael Jolley, writes in the New Statesman on how the rights to press freedom are being violated around the world in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Index is running a project to map these incidents.
“Challenges are coming at us from all directions. But the public’s right to know should not be erased during this time,” she wrote.
Read the full article here. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]