Rarely, if ever, have free expression and press freedom in my country — and abroad — been more at risk.
To mark World Press Freedom Day 2025 today, May 3rd, the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the USA (AFPC-US) held a panel of experts to talk about the alarming dangers journalists increasingly face around the world. The threats to free speech in the U.S. and press freedom globally have hardly ever been more serious and perilous — from physical dangers at protests, or in war, to digital harassment and legal intimidation.
As VP of the AFPC-USA, I spoke to Katherine Jacobsen of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Clayton Weimers of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and Seth Stern of the Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) about these attacks on free expression and the steps journalists can take to stay safer.
At a time when the Trump administration passed the 100-day mark and tried to cut off funding for PBS and NPR, we honor World Press Freedom Day under the shadow of growing censorship, fierce attacks on the media and intensifying threats to press freedom around the globe.
photo by Matt Chesin
During the first Trump administration, the President falsely accused the mainstream media of being “the enemy of the people” and called out many criticisms as “fake news.”
In Trump 2.0, the administration is all about retribution: suing media companies directly, restricting access to the White House for the AP, trampling on the First Amendment and creating a chilling effect of fear for reporters at home and foreign correspondents who cover America — all seemingly in order to squelch free speech.
—Storer Rowley
Find detailed takeaways on the conversation on the AFPC-USA website by clicking here: