In the wake of the recent Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, the importance of protecting journalistic freedom and enshrining freedom of expression in governmental functioning was highlighted by recent recipients, Maria Ressa of the Philippines, and Dmitry Muratov, of Russia. 

Both recipients were honoured for their courageous efforts to promote independent thought and reporting under authoritarian regimes, where such reporting can often result in harassment, death threats and violent attacks. Such threats against press freedom have consistently culminated in violence, with the recent assassinations of Jamal Khashoggi, or Daphen Caruana Galizia in Malta, and many others. Journalists are the front line against authoritarian regimes, where the spoken word is the weapon with which democracy is defended, were key messages both 2021 Nobel Peace Prize winners articulated.

In her acceptance speech, Ressa says, “We are standing on the rubble of the world that was, and we must have the foresight and courage to imagine what might happen if we don’t act now, and instead, create the world as it should be – more compassionate, more equal, more sustainable.” As a journalist in the Philippines reporting during President Duterte’s administration, Ressa has faced numerous death threats and received ten arrest warrants from the Philippine government, having to “post bail ten times just to do [her] job.”

Her story is not singular. Hundreds of journalists across the globe face similar situations from authoritarian governments hoping to control the narrative and stifle the truth. Last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege began to receive UN armed guard after receiving multiple death threats for reporting crimes committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He survived an assassination attempt where armed men entered his home, firing and killing his bodyguard and other threatening phone calls to his family members and colleagues. Moreover, the International Federation of Journalists reported that 365 journalists had been imprisoned this year compared to 235 last year, with another nine killed working in Afghanistan and 102 detained in China. 

These extreme attempts to silence activists across the globe emphasize the importance of journalist protections for these Nobel Prize winners. Such protections will ensure they can continue to maintain and expand their work. Concluding her speech to a crowd of Norwegian royals, officials, and other audience members, Ressa asserts that “We need information ecosystems that live and die by facts. We do this by shifting social priorities to rebuild journalism for the 21st century while regulating and outlawing the surveillance economics that profit from hate and lies.”

Protecting journalists and Nobel Peace Prize winners safeguards the avenues of storytelling and our accessibility to the truth. It demonstrates a broader commitment to maintaining peaceful communication pathways between the state and its constituents and provides hope for a future where non-violent solutions and societies can continue to be secured.