“Artificial Intelligence is revolutionising the speed at which information is processed, disseminated and circulated, for better and, very often, for worse. In a world where algorithms tend to lock network users into information bubbles, AI can accelerate political polarisation towards the extremes”.
With these words, UNESCO Director–General Audrey Azoulay opened the global UNESCO signature event to mark World Press Freedom Day, held this year in Brussels on 7 May 2025, with a focus on information as a public good in the age of AI.
124 journalists killed in 2024, including 82 in Gaza
Audrey Azoulay highlighted that the European Union (EU) has become one of UNESCO’s most important partners in recent years, becoming its second largest donor in 2024. “A partnership that is essential and even more appreciated, given the geopolitical upheavals the world is facing,” she declared.
“Free journalism and media are the cornerstone of our democracy,” stated Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy at the European Commission. “Yet record numbers of journalists were killed in 2024, the great majority of them reporters in Gaza. The Committee to Protect Journalists documented that 124 journalists were killed worldwide in 2024. 82 of them were Palestinians. There must be no tolerance or impunity for the killing of journalists anywhere”.
A new Media Freedom Act in the EU
In a special message, Michael McGrath, EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection reminded that “in times of crises, a free press can become a lifeline”.
He stressed the different legal tools implemented in the EU to strengthen media freedom and pluralism, among which the European Media Freedom Act, which entered into force on 7 May 2024 and will be fully applied on 8 August 2025. This Act notably provides “safeguards against political interference in editorial decisions” and protects “journalists from surveillance”.
Moreover, the initiative entitled “European Democracy Shield” is meant to “tackle the growing threats to democratic institutions”, among which “foreign information manipulation and disinformation”.
AI challenges and opportunities for the press
Throughout the World Press Freedom Day Brussels event, the challenges and opportunities AI presents for the media were discussed during plenary sessions, involving members of the press, big tech, civil society, researchers and United Nations experts. Mention was made of the Global Digital Compact, part of the Pact for the Future agreed by UN member states. It is the first comprehensive global framework for digital cooperation and AI governance.
“AI can be a weapon and a tool,” said Irene Khan, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. “First, we must recognise that it is here to stay. At the same time, we need to ensure that AI actually works for good […] and to advance human rights.”
“20% persons around the world are already using AI, and strikingly, two thirds of the people living in lower income countries expect AI to be part of their life within the next year,” recalled Pedro Conceição, Director of the Human Development Report (HDR) Office for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He referred to the latest HDR report, published on 6 May on the topic of AI and “how it can be harnessed to enhance human development”.
AI described as “poisoned syrup” by the International Federation of Journalists
Dominique Pradalié, President of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), described AI as “poisoned syrup”, that “risks interfering with human intelligence in all areas”.
“Disinformation is on the increase and is being used on an industrial scale […]. The algorithmic choices made by platforms are driven by their economic interests, resulting in a preference for content that distracts, rather than information. This is a cognitive war being waged against the media system itself”. In the face of AI, a clear, transparent and binding legal framework must be put in place, according to Dominique Pradalié.
“Should journalists still exist in a few years’ time? […] Since the death of [Russian journalist] Anna Politkovskaïa in 2006, how many journalists have been killed? More than 2,000. Currently, more than 500 are in prison and more than 2,000 are in exile. These terrible figures prove that journalists are not protected”. No specific international legal protection exists for journalists, stresses the IFJ, which is calling for an international convention to be drawn up
The World Press Freedom Prize ceremony in Brussels
During the day, the award ceremony of the 2025 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize took place in Brussels. The award was handed out to the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa – El Diario de los Nicaragüenses, founded in 1926.
Since 2021, following the imprisonment and expulsion of its leaders from the country as well as the confiscation of its assets, La Prensa has continued to inform the Nicaraguan public online, with most of its team in exile and operating from Costa Rica, Spain, Mexico, Germany, and the United States.
In response to this award, the Government of Nicaragua announced its withdrawal from UNESCO, effective on 31 December 2026. In response, UNESCO said it regretted the Government of Nicaragua’s decision in a press release issued on 4 May 2025.
USEFUL LINKS
World Press Freedom Day: Reporting on the environment, an increasingly risky job
World Press Freedom Day 2024: Journalism in the face of the environmental crisis
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Journalism: Risks and Opportunities