This year, World Press Freedom Day, on 3 May, will focus on the profound influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on journalism and media under the theme: Reporting in the Brave New World – The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Media.
The media landscape has changed significantly since the UN General Assembly proclaimed World Press Freedom Day in 1993.
The unprecedented use and development of AI systems are playing a transformative role in journalism and the media, and on press freedom.
While the principles of free, independent, and pluralistic media remain crucial, AI’s impact on information gathering, processing, and dissemination is profound, presenting both innovative opportunities and profound challenges.
AI offers the potential to enhance freedom of expression by democratising access to information, empowering global communication and changing the reality of the flow of information around the world.
It also introduces new risks, as highlighted by the UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression.
The UN Global Digital Compact emphasises the need to address technology-amplified issues while protecting privacy and freedom of expression.
AI is transforming the fundamental right to seek, impart and receive information, as well as the journalist profession.
The technology opportunities and challenges for journalists and media.
AI in media: Opportunities
AI enhances access to information and processing of it, enabling journalists to handle and process vast amounts of data efficiently and create content more effectively.
AI tools can improve fact-checking, data visualisation, local and multiple adaptation of news content and its translation, streamlining the journalist process and making information more engaging and accessible.
AI in media: Risks
AI also presents risks. It can be used to reproduce misinformation, spread misinformation, amplify online hate speech, and enable new forms of censorship.
Some actors use AI for mass surveillance of journalists and citizens, creating a chilling effect on freedom of expression.
Private platforms increasingly use AI to filter, moderate, and curate content, becoming gatekeepers of information. There’s a growing concern that AI might contribute to the homogenisation of the global media landscape, potentially reducing diversity in perspectives, media pluralism, and marginalising smaller outlets.
To address this, relevant actors have been exploring how to apply professional standards in the AI integration in media production, policy guidelines based on human rights principles and on the need of transparency and accountability are being developed; media and information literacy is widespread; and technology-based solutions are being created that align with human rights standards.
Cooperation among relevant actors is essential to develop AI-driven tools for information integrity, detecting misinformation and disinformation, and fostering secure and human rights-based digital ecosystems.
Safety of women journalists
AI presents both opportunities and challenges for women journalists.
It can support victims of gender-based violence by streamlining reporting tools and enhancing fairness in digital spaces. These advancements could reduce barriers to reporting abuse and enable faster responses.
AI also amplifies existing risks for women journalists in the digital landscape.
The UN Commission on the Status of Women has identified technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) as a critical global issue, particularly affecting women in public-facing roles like journalism.
AI systems can generate deepfakes, doctored images, and mis/disinformation campaigns aimed at discrediting or intimidating women journalists.
These AI-driven hacks jeopardise their safety but also have a chilling effect on their work, potentially limiting public access to information.
Media viability
AI offers media outlets tools to increase efficiency through task automation, helping newsrooms meet growing demands and remain competitive.
However, the financial sustainability of media is becoming more fragile as generative AI platforms repurpose journalist content without proper compensation, diverting revenue from independent outlets to digital platforms and AI actors.
Among the issues being discussed is fair remuneration for content used by AI systems, with copyright enforcement mechanisms and fair revenue-sharing models.
Media outlets are facing how to balance AI use with maintaining good practices and audience trust and engagement. Many have issued codes of conduct stressing respect for audience data, content authenticity, AI use disclosure, transparency, and information integrity.
Elections and Democratic processes
AI is increasingly influencing the integrity of elections, offering tools for fact-checking and combating disinformation while empowering journalists and voters to promote informed democratic participation.
However, it poses risks, as generative AI enables the creation of misleading content like deepfakes, undermining trust in democratic institutions.
The event
The Reporting in the Brave New World: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Media event takes place on 7 May 2025 from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm at the BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium.
The event will explore these complex issues, bringing together journalists, policymakers, media professionals, and civil society actors to ensure AI strengthens, rather than undermines, press freedom and democratic values
The discussion will:
Reaffirm the universal commitment to freedom of expression and press freedom.Explore AI’s effects on media pluralism, diversity, and independence.Assess AI impact on news and media content creation and dissemination.Encourage media to make ethical use of AI systems in their operations.Strengthen collaboration between media stakeholders.Support enabling environments for media to have the rights and resources to effectively report on the benefits and harms of AI systems.Encourage global cooperation for journalists’ safety.Support media integration of AI, focusing on viability and representation. Emphasise the importance of information integrity on AI impacts.Promote media and information literacy skills to strengthen critical thinking and competencies needed to understand the use and implications of AI systems.
This is a hybrid event. See the programme here.Addressing these challenges requires collaboration among governments, media, and civil society.
A day of support for media and press freedom
World Press Freedom Day is a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics.
A day of support for media and press freedom, it is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of a story.
It is an opportunity to:
Celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom.Assess the state of press freedom throughout the world.Defend the media from attacks on their independence.Pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
The Declaration of Windhoek
A Unesco seminar was held in Windhoek, Namibia, from 29 April 29 to 3 May 1991 with a focus on the promotion of an independent and pluralistic African press.
The seminar, which was attended by 63 participants from 38 countries, was later endorsed by the Unesco’s General Conference. In December 1993, the United Nations General Assembly declared 3 May declared as World Press Freedom Day.
The aim of the Declaration was to promote press freedom, independence, and pluralism, ensuring the public’s right to information and freedom of expression.
Today, its principles continue to be relevant and have had a positive impact on the media landscape in Africa and beyond. The Declaration has also served as a model for similar declarations in other parts of the world.
Windhoek+30
In 2021, on the 30th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a new declaration called Windhoek+30 was adopted, building upon the original principles and adding new elements like media viability and digital transparency.
This called on various stakeholders, including governments, international organisations, and civil society, to reinforce cooperation and strengthen media freedom, diversity, and independence.
