A flagship report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recorded a historic 10 percent decline in freedom of expression worldwide between 2012 and 2024, driven by rising self-censorship among journalists and increasing attacks against them both offline and online.
The report indicates that between 2022 and 2025, 186 journalists were killed while covering wars and conflict zones, representing a 67% increase compared to the previous report period covering 2018 to 2021.
In 2025 alone, 93 journalists were killed, with 60 of those deaths occurring in conflict zones.
UNESCO found that the rate of impunity for attacks on journalists decreased from 95% in 2012 to 85% in 2024, highlighting that most perpetrators still go unpunished.
“Despite international commitments to end impunity for killing journalists, accountability is rare,” it said.
Additionally, since 2018, more than 900 journalists in Latin America and the Caribbean have been forced into exile.
In a related report by the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) in partnership with UN Women and UNESCO, it was found that 75% of women journalists and media workers experienced online violence while performing their jobs in 2025, an increase from 73% in 2020.
Despite the severity of the global decline in freedom of expression, UNESCO noted that meaningful progress is occurring.
Between 2020 and 2025, 1.5 billion people gained access to social media and messaging platforms.
This trend indicates expanding opportunities for civic participation worldwide, along with the growth of collaborative investigative journalism, fact-checking units, and laws recognizing community media.
UNESCO urged Member States to protect and invest in journalism, emphasizing that defending free and independent media is essential for promoting peaceful societies.
The organization also called for greater transparency in the digital information space and highlighted its 2023 Global Guidelines for the Governance of Digital Platforms, which were developed with contributors from over 130 countries.
The “World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development: Global Report” is published by UNESCO every four years.
It is the only global report that analyzes trends in freedom of expression and journalism over a multi-year period.
Most of the data for the report was gathered between January 2022 to December 2025.
