In 1993 the UN General Assembly declared the World Press Freedom Day for the first time and since May 3rd it is celebrated annually. Until today it acts as a reminder for governments to respect their responsibility towards press freedom and to value the freedom to “seek, impart and receive” information.
Living in press free countries like the Netherlands, Germany or Belgium we often forget that there are a lot of countries out there who do not enjoy the freedom of reporting freely and without censorship. The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking established in 2002 of countries listed and issued by Reporters Without Borders based upon the organisation's own evaluation of the countries freedom that journalists and organizations have in that country. Under the top 10, the only non-European countries are Costa Rica, New Zealand and Jamaica. The lowest ranking are countries like North Korea, Eritrea, China or Cuba, which might not surprise as at all but is still shocking to see black on white.
The problem with censorship is that citizen do not have access to important information or only get the truth that their government wants them to believe. People with lack of education and lack of additional resources like families or friends abroad to not have the possibility to question what is told them by the government and are very likely to believe what they see.
This why press freedom is important in 21st century and why we must fight for this right stronger than ever.
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