9 – 10 December is the World Press Freedom Conference 2020, with the theme “Journalism Without Fear or Favour”. The conference is a day of remembrance for the journalists that have lost their lives whilst doing their job. It celebrates the work of journalists over the year and encourages international action to ensure the protection of journalists and of media freedom.
Media Freedom and COVID-19
Ahead of the conference, UNESCO released a report discussing the impact of COVID-19 on press freedom. The key finding is that the pandemic has fuelled the spread of dangerous disinformation, termed a “disinfodemic”. The World Health Organisation called this a “second disease”, where the overflow of information, not always accurate, has created difficulties in finding trustworthy sources and reliable guidance on the pandemic.
Data from the Bruno Kessler Foundation found that from an analysis of 112 million public social media posts related to COVID-19 in 64 different languages, 40% of posts came from unreliable sources.
This spans across Facebook, Twitter and other major social media platforms. Researchers also found that almost 42% of over 178 million tweets related to COVID-19 were produced by bots, and 40% were “unreliable”. On Facebook, 40 million posts in March were deemed “problematic” and had warnings placed on them, and the site removed hundreds of thousands of posts containing misinformation about the virus that could “lead to imminent physical harm”. The UNESCO report said that despite technology and social media companies taking action, more transparency is needed.
In the US, President Trump has repeatedly contested claims about COVID-19 and the number of cases and deaths, deeming much of the media as “fake news”, yet he himself has been a culprit in the spread of disinformation. In October when news broke that Trump had tested positive for COVID-19, Twitter flagged his tweet in which he claimed he was immune. Trump tweeted: ““A total and complete sign off from White House Doctors yesterday. That means I can’t get it (immune), and can’t give it. Very nice to know.” Twitter flagged this with a disclaimer, stating that it violated Twitter rules about spreading misleading and potentially harmful information on COVID-19. However, the tweet remains available to view as it was determined “in the public interest” to remain accessible.
The report also discussed the restrictions on human rights as governments around the world announced national lockdown measures to combat the spread of the virus. Freedom of expression and press freedom have been limited through laws proposed to counter disinformation, but have instead put journalists at criminal risk. In April, journalists covering COVID-19 in Hungary and Russia faced various sanctions under new laws, such as prison terms up to five years for spreading “false information”. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, decrees aimed at punishing the circulation of information “that can cause panic” came with the risk of limiting freedom of expression and the work of journalists reporting on COVID-19, as what constitutes “causing panic” is difficult to quantify. The Commissioner for Human Rights urged the Council of Europe to “preserve press and media freedom and ensure that measures to combat disinformation are necessary, proportionate and subject to regular oversight, including by Parliament and national human rights institutions.”
“There is no doubt that governments are facing unprecedented challenges during this pandemic. This cannot however be an excuse to clamp down on the press and thus restrict people’s access to information. Journalists and media actors carry out indispensable work that serves the public good. Their work must be protected, not undermined.” – Commissioner for Human Rights
Right to Access and Right to Privacy
The right to access information has also been strained, for example in India, where the Central Information Commission which oversees access to information requests closed on 25 March for a 21 day period at the height of the pandemic. Italy issued a Decree Law on 17 March which suspended all right to public information requests, and similar measures were taken in the UK, Spain, Romania, Honduras and the Philippines.
Access Now’s #KeepItOn campaign highlighted internet shutdowns during COVID-19. The Ethiopian government had imposed an internet shutdown since January 2019 due to conflict between the government forces and armed groups. The disputed Kashmir and Jammu regions which had previously had a 175 day internet shutdown imposed by the Indian government only have access to 2G mobile data, which means not many people can access information online. The Rohingya were affected by internet shutdowns both in Rakhine and Chin states in Myanmar, and in refugee camps in Bangladesh were the government shut down mobile internet connections in 2019. Whilst the internet ban has been lifted in some instances, internet shutdowns remain an intrusion on the right to access information and a significant risk to public safety.
Further to this, enhanced surveillance in many countries has curbed the right to privacy, with tracking measures and enforced quarantines sometimes disproportionate and risk being abused after the pandemic. Countries such as the UK, France, Germany and Italy have devised a mobile phone app tracing system, using cell phone and location data to track people’s movements. Amnesty International said that whilst it is important and necessary for governments to prevent and control the spread of the virus, governments “must be able to show that measures implemented are provided for by law and are necessary, proportionate, time-bound, and that they are implemented with transparency and adequate oversight.” “Surveillance measures must be the least intrusive available to achieve the desired result. They must do no more harm than good,” they added.
The International Press Institute (IPI) recorded 140 instances of media freedom violations related to the COVID-19 pandemic. To combat the “infodemic”, journalists have been putting their own safety at risk to ensure the public are correctly informed.
Reporters Without Borders documented attacks against at least 125 journalists in 29 countries, including arrests, expulsions, police violence, interrogations, withdrawing of press passes and seizing electronic devices.
More than 20 instances have been recorded of journalists being blocked from reporting on COVID-19, according to Index on Censorship. IPI records 38 journalists having been arrested and/or charged in relation to COVID-19 coverage. Chinese journalist Zhang Xhan faces up to five years in jail for reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan. She was detained in May and charged with spreading false information. The charge of “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble” in relation to COVID-19 reporting on social media has been used against other journalists in China. Two journalists went missing in Wuhan earlier this year, Chen Quishi and Li Zehua, but were later found. NGO Chinese Human Rights Defenders documented 897 cases involving Chinese internet users penalised by the police for reporting online or sharing COVID-19 information between January and March 2020.
Journalists are not only at risk for their physical health and safety, with 16 journalists dying from COVID-19, but also digital safety. “Increased surveillance and hacking have decreased journalists’ ability to ensure their sources remain confidential, at a time when some governments are cracking down on whistleblowers”, written in the UNESCO report. As online activity has increased during the lockdown periods, female journalists in particular have seen greater levels of online harassment and face increased risks for doing their jobs.
Beyond COVID-19
Whilst the pandemic has exacerbated the risks to journalists and press freedom, journalists have faced violence and danger whilst reporting on other topics. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) tracked press freedom aggressions during the Black Lives Matter protests in the US. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the protests began due to the murder of Minneapolis resident George Floyd at the hands of the police, there were 41 documented press freedom aggressions. This affected 69 journalists, who faced arrest, criminal charges, and “kettling” by police, surrounding them and cordoning off exits. Some reporters were even met with physical attacks, such as Minneapolis Star Tribune reporter Ryan Faircloth who was hit with glass shards after officers fired at a car window, or Reuters photographer Lucas Jackson who was hit with a crowbar by an “unidentified man wearing body armour”. Press freedom aggressions were second highest in Portland, Oregon, with a documented 38 incidents affecting 29 journalists.
In Belarus where protests against ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka have been ongoing for months, journalists have been continually prohibited from reporting and put in danger if they do. Radio Free Europe reports that since August, 373 journalists have been arrested, since of whom are still currently detained. Similarly in Russia, the CPJ reported that at least six journalists covering protests in Khabarovsk have been arrested since July, with at least three still in detention. Many journalists have been arrested and then rearrested upon their release, being charged for reporting on different protests.
Ahead of the World Conference for Press Freedom, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, encourages the “coalition of United Nations organisations with media, governments, lawyers, academics and civil society organisations in support of their right for independence and truth.”
She calls for a “redoubling of these efforts” so that free press and journalists are protected. UNESCO urges governments and organisations to take “new opportunities to stand up for journalists”, to ensure the protection of fundamental human rights during the pandemic but also the protection of journalists reporting on domestic affairs. Such solutions include firstly speaking out in solidarity of journalists and political leaders favouring journalists reporting freely, as well as more funding for independent media and global campaigns to create safe spaces for reporting and quality journalistic content.
Watch IOHR’s webinar: Combatting disinformation – exploring the options