World Press Freedom Day: In a world riven with conflict, the media is a crucial line of defence and must be protected

This year, on World Press Freedom Day, we face an uncomfortable truth. Journalists are putting themselves in harm’s way so the rest of us can understand what is happening in a contested and volatile world - and increasingly these brave reporters are paying the ultimate price.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 129 journalists and media workers were killed in 2025 – the deadliest year since records began more than three decades ago.

Yet right now, the media’s role is becoming ever more vital. The theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day is “Shaping a Future at Peace”.

As joint chairs of the Media Freedom Coalition, we are acutely aware of the important role of a free, independent and pluralistic media in both achieving – and sustaining – peace. Yet, that ambition feels harder to reach than at any point in recent memory. Conflict is rife, truth is contested, and disinformation is weaponised.

In war zones, independent journalists provide the accurate, timely information that people rely on to survive. Factual reporting can save lives and livelihoods. It’s a bulwark against propaganda and disinformation, which is often rife in conflict areas.

A free press can act as an early warning system, exposing atrocities and documenting war crimes. It gives voice to those too often excluded from mediation and peace processes, and it helps create the conditions for dialogue that can be the path to peace.

It is clear that global media freedom is under the most sustained attack in decades, precisely at the moment when we need it most for our collective security.

That is why we – the UK and Finland - are chairing the Media Freedom Coalition, a partnership of 51 countries across six continents, working together to improve the environment for media, and the safety of journalists. MFC member states work closely with civil society, legal experts, international bodies such as UNESCO, as well as journalists and media workers themselves.

By working together – and with all our members - we can uphold media freedom in our own countries, and encourage others to do the same, and bring the perpetrators of crimes against journalists to account.

International law is clear: journalists covering conflict are civilians and should be protected as such. But reality tells a different story. Where a jacket marked “PRESS” once offered a measure of protection, now it is often a target.

The threats are not just on the battlefield. Journalists – particularly women – face relentless online abuse and harassment. Media organisations are squeezed by censorship, rising costs and financial pressure. Disinformation eats away at public trust. New technologies, including artificial intelligence, bring opportunity but also profound challenges.

If we are serious about shaping a future at peace, we must defend those who risk everything to report the truth.

Elina Valtonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Chris Elmore MP, Minister for Human Rights at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, United Kingdom