World Press Freedom Day – May 3 – is not very well known, but freedom of the press is certainly a concern nowadays.
The United States now has the distinction of being one of the most dangerous countries for journalists in the word. Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index 2019 documented that 63 journalists were killed while doing their jobs during 2018 – a statistic 15 percent higher than the year before. The report states that U.S. journalists are subjected to an unprecedented number of death threats and blames much of it on Trump’s accusations about “fake news” and calling journalists “enemies” of the people.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) told NPR that reporters in the U.S have endured attacks by police and protestors, are targeted at the border and in other countries. All over the world, an increasing number of journalists are murdered, falsely imprisoned, and subject to violence. The CPJ reports that more than 260 journalists are in prison, the highest ever recorded.