Civic space is wherever people organize, participate, protest, or communicate with each other to influence the political and social structures around them. Protecting it is our highest priority.
Press Freedom and Civic Space
On this World Press Freedom Day, let’s think about our information climate, where the media fit in, and what this means for the rest of us.
Journalists provide essential access to reliable, accessible, and accurate information that helps us all make the decisions that shape our lives – and the societies we live in. They also work to counter the scourge of disinformation that often escalates during times of crisis.
The media’s important work defending information integrity is often carried out alongside and with support from civil society organisations, and it is needed now more than ever to protect civic space from the escalating assaults on it.
To protect civic space, we must demand press freedom.
Featured Articles
Azerbaijan: Journalist and her daughter threatened over trial coverage
On 8 May, freelance journalist Ayten Mammadova was threatened by a knife-wielding man in the elevator of her apartment block. The man demanded that she stop writing about a trial she was covering, and warned that if she didn’t he would ‘deal’ with her daughter.
Political crises, anti-Muslim violence, and Maria Ressa’s pushback
April 2022 in Asia-Pacific: A free expression round up produced by IFEX’s regional editor Mong Palatino, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
Sri Lanka: “Emergency regulations are a threat to freedom of speech and expression”
The Free Media Movement condemns the declaration of the state of emergency in defiance of public demands and calls on the President to remove this repressive law immediately.
Egypt’s clampdown on “immodest” videos, and the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists
April 2022 in Middle East and North Africa: A free expression roundup produced by IFEX’s Regional Editor Naseem Tarawnah, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.
Five years of PECA: The law that tried to silence Pakistan
While PECA has been used to stifle journalists, it has also been used to intimidate the country’s various marginalised communities.
“They will not shoot down our dream”: Challenges faced by human rights defenders in Iraq
New report examines the increasingly hostile environment for human rights defenders and activists following Iraq’s October 2019 demonstrations.
