World Press Freedom Day being celebrated across globe

World Press Freedom Day is being celebrated across the globe today. As the entire world is going through COVID-19 pandemic, this year the theme of the day is “Journalism without Fear or Favour.”

In his message, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that as the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading, it has also given rise to a second pandemic of misinformation, from harmful health advice to wild conspiracy theories. He focussed on the importance of the press in this situation saying that the press provides the antidote: verified, scientific, fact-based news and analysis.

World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference. Since then, 3 May, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek is celebrated worldwide as the World Press Freedom Day to pay gratitude to those journalists who lost their lives in order to bring us honest and real news.