Journalist deaths spiked in 2023, Committee to Protect Journalists says

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Last year, ninety-nine journalists were killed in relation to their work, according to a report published today by the Committee to Protect Journalists. It is the highest number the organization has recorded since 2015 and represents a 44 percent increase from the year prior. 

Nearly 80 percent of those deaths occurred in the last three months of 2023 and were attributed to the war in Gaza. CPJ says that seventy-two Palestinian journalists were among those killed. 

“It is terrifying,” said Jodie Ginsberg, the CPJ chief executive, “but not surprising, if you want to talk about context.” 

The report also blames “divisive elections, rising authoritarianism, ongoing conflicts, and powerful and expanding organized crime networks” for the increased hazard. “Attacks on journalists,” said Ginsberg, “are often among the first indicators of a declining environment for freedoms and rights more generally.” 

CPJ said that, due to the number of journalists killed, the timing of the conflict in the Middle East, and the lack of surviving sources, the report was published over a month late this year in order to better corroborate information. 

It also corrected its earlier numbers after it found credible evidence that four of the names previously published as slain journalists—two Palestinian and two Israeli—should no longer be included in the list. One is still alive, another was never a journalist or media support worker, and the remaining two were not killed in the line of work. 

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Kevin Lind was a CJR fellow.