The Guardian view on press freedom: authoritarians target journalism because it matters | Editorial

Governments in Egypt, Russia and the United States are increasing pressure on journalists and media organisations, through prosecutions, detention, closures and cuts to publicly funded broadcasters. The article argues that these attacks matter because independent reporting can expose abuses and help resist the erosion of democracy.

Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah faces retrial after a conviction issued in her absence, a large fine and an order to close Mada Masr; six Matsadash journalists remain detained. Russia’s Novaya Gazeta has been forced to stop publishing, while a US appeals court ruled that the administration illegally fired the head of Voice of America. Reporters Without Borders says press freedom is at its lowest point in 25 years, and the Committee to Protect Journalists recorded 129 media-worker deaths in 2025; Unesco says almost nine in ten journalist killings go unpunished.