All The World Is Fragile, Including Truth

Michael Hedges May 3, 2020 - Follow on Twitter

Fragility is the issue. Many are feeling it. It is widely recognized, often discussed. Every institution is affected in some way. What people know and how they know it is perhaps the most fragile.

World Press Freedom Day commemorations in recent years have become more steeped in anxiety. This years observation, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, comes with despair. Distrust of news media is rife, except where it is not. The great and good, smart and committed among press/media freedom watchers have confirmed, again, the necessity of marking May 3rd.

“As the pandemic spreads, it has also given rise to a second pandemic of misinformation, from harmful health advice to wild conspiracy theories,” said United National (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in an advance statement. “The press provides the antidote: verified, scientific, fact-based news and analysis.” The UN General Assembly declared World Press Freedom Day in 1993. This years theme is “journalism without fear or favor.”

“Let journalists work,” said OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) media freedom representative Harlem Desir in a statement. “Our health depends not only on readily accessible healthcare but also on access to accurate information on the pandemic, its evolution and ways of protecting ourselves and others. World Press Freedom Day is a reminded that our societies cannot thrive without a free press.”

“Freedom of expression, a free press and flow of reliable information are critical for the functioning of a truly democratic society,” said Council of Europe Committee of Ministers president David Zalkaliani in a statement. “This is especially true in this time of unprecedented global crisis. Now, more than ever, the public must have access to accurate, prompt, and trustworthy information.” Mr. Zalkaliani is also Foreign Minister of Georgia.

“The public health crisis has allowed governments to exercise control over the media on the pretext of preventing the spread of disinformation,” wrote the International Press Institute (IPI) in a report issued ahead of World Press Freedom Day. The IPI details media freedom violations by region during February and March related to coronavirus news coverage, finding most arrests or charges filed and verbal or physical abuse taking place in Europe.

“In Russia, the Putin government has weaponized concerns over ‘fake news’ and misinformation to ramp up its censorship of critical outlets,” said the IPI report. “In Hungary, an EU member state, the government has handed Prime Minister Victor Orbán indefinite emergency powers to rule by decree and criminalized the spread of ‘false’ or ‘distorted’ information for the first time, marking another step toward total information control. Also called out were Italy, Ukraine and Croatia for attacks on media workers reporting on the pandemic.

Quite powerfully, Italy’s Under Secretary for Information Policy Andrea Martella addressed inconvenient truth, quoted by media portal primaonline (May 2). “This May 3rd, we know, is different. Quality journalism and verified, reliable and impartial news are a valuable incentive for responsible behavior of citizens. Unfortunately, with the significance of this day, we have negative examples. The dramatic spread of the coronavirus has provided the pretext in several realities to hit reporters who with their investigations revealed unwelcome truths and to obtain greater powers to be used to mortify rights and freedoms, starting with the very one of the press.”

See also...

• Hot Topics - Press/Media Freedom

• Hot Topics - Censorship