The world is at a “tipping point” for press freedom, the French NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warned as it marked its 40th anniversary ahead of unveiling a memorial stone in Bayeux, Normandy, in honour of journalists killed in the line of duty.
Since 1985, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has been defending journalists and press freedom around the world.
For RSF director Thibaut Bruttin, who took over the reins of the Paris-based organisation in July 2024, press freedom has never been in greater peril, on an international scale.
This "tipping point" is the result of an "economic crackdown" on global media, coupled with "the biggest hate campaign against journalism, triggered by the Trump administration," Bruttin told RFI.
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United States President Donald Trump has cut funding for public service media, cracked down on visas for journalists and filed legal complaints against news outlets.
Around the world, including in Ukraine, the Middle East and Latin America, the profession of field reporter has become more dangerous, and more deadly.
"If you look back, journalists back in the 1960s and 70s were privileged witnesses of history. They were welcomed, or at least tolerated, by most of the forces present in war zones. Then they became collateral victims, then they became hostages and persons of value, who are now being silenced," Bruttin said.
'Bloody pages of history'
On Thursday, Bruttin will represent RSF in the Normandy town of Bayeux for the annual war correspondents’ prize week (Prix Bayeux), an event that includes free public exhibitions, round tables, conferences and screenings.
It is also a time for mourning and remembering.
At a ceremony in the war memorial park, Bruttin will unveil a stone engraved with the names of 73 journalists killed in the line of duty in the past year.
"It's the only place, as far as I know, in the world where there is a list of all the journalists killed in action since the end of World War Two," he said, adding that the families of journalists killed in Ukraine, Mexico and Syria will be present.
"It's a deeply moving moment, and it's very important to remind [people] that freedom of the press is not a given. It's something that has been conquered. The history of the press is full of bloody pages," he said.
"The primary safeguard for civilians is the action of the press. If there is no press on the ground, who is going to be giving the facts?"
The particularly heavy death toll of journalists between 2024 and 2025 is attributed to the Israeli operation against Hamas militants in Gaza, where foreign media is forbidden and only Palestinian journalists have been operating, at their peril.
RSF reported that Israel is responsible for the killing of more than 200 journalists in Gaza, and found evidence that in 56 cases those journalists were deliberately targeted.
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This openly flouts article 2222 of the United Nations Security Council (signed in 2015), which explicitly outlines the importance of protecting journalists in conflict zones, and a mechanism for accountability in this regard.
"For the first time in history, we have the army of a democratic government [Israel] actively pursuing a smear campaign against journalists, plus targeting them and claiming that they target them," Bruttin said.
'Smear campaign'
For RSF, collective strength and international solidarity are instrumental in highlighting such situations.
The NGO launched a petition on 1 September in support of Palestinian journalists, which has been signed by more than 250 media organisations.
Following that, on 24 September RSF obtained the support of 21 UN member states who called for the opening of Gaza to foreign media and the evacuation of Palestinian journalists.
"If you use social media tools today, you will see that the smear campaign of the Israeli Defense Forces against Palestinian journalists has almost disappeared. It wasn’t easy to do, but we managed," said Bruttin.
French photojournalist Antoni Lallican killed in Ukraine drone attack
Bruttin says RSF was also instrumental in getting the French prosecutor’s office to launch an investigation into war crimes over the death of French photojournalist Antoni Lallican, who was killed by a drone attack attributed to Russia in Donbas, Ukraine on 3 October.
RSF was able to present evidence to the Ukrainian prosecutor's office to prove that Lallican was deliberately targeted.
The future of journalism
To mark their anniversary, RSF has teamed up with the Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli, also founded in 1985, to publish a special album of drawings and photos, which goes on sale in France on 6 November.
For Bruttin, Studio Ghibli shares many of RSF's values, such as integrity and authenticity.
This includes a shared belief in the need for regulation when it comes to artificial intelligence – something Studio Ghibli has been vocal about after AI was used to copy and recreate their trademark drawing style.
RSF says the press cannot afford not to keep up with technological advances, and has been building an ethical charter for AI and the newsroom and conducting a pilot project to help journalists build their own tools.
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For Bruttin, RSF's goal is to be "a driving force for change within the industry, to build a coalition between media professionals, policymakers and the general public".
He said: "Our primary focus today is both the safety of journalists, but also the future of journalism, because sometimes you can save the individuals but fail to address the systemic problems of the media ecosystem.
"We are very keen on demonstrating that it's not about journalists at the end of the day, it's about the people's relationship to facts."
