![]() ![]() These laws have as a basis and common characteristic an extremely vague language aiming towards the spread of disinformation, and the propagation of fake news. It is then legitimate to question the state of freedom of the press in democracies.Īccording to UNESCO, 57 new laws in 44 countries were adopted or transformed since 2016 2. As a matter of fact, a democracy without total freedom of the press cannot be sound. Therefore, democracies need to protect this institution. The press aims to inform the citizens of the current news in total transparency, in order for the citizens to be able to make free and informed choices. A democracy gives power to the people, total freedom of the press is thus vital to its good functioning. Consequently, freedom of press is an undeniable founding principle of democracy and is absolutely necessary to the democratic debate. The press has the power and the duty to make aware of the elected members’ responsibilities to the citizens. A free press is thus the first necessary condition for the creation of political and legal institutions which are fair and impartial. The General Secretary of the United Nations, António Guterres, declared that no democracy can be complete without a reliable and transparent access to information 1. This position is worrying since it doesn’t resemble the democratic values which France claims to embody. Indeed, France was ranked 26th by Reporters without borders (Reporters sans frontières) in its ranking on freedom of press. ![]() However, in France, this freedom is questioned by various mechanisms and its guarantee is not ensured any more. The total freedom of press is a fundamental concept of democracy. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |