2024 was deadliest year for journalists with 124 reporters killed, Committee to Protect Journalists says
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Record Number of Journalists Killed in 2024
Above: Funeral of Al-Jazeera cameraman Hamza Al-Dahdouh, who was killed alongside freelance video journalist Mustafa Thuraya in an Israeli drone strike, in Rafah, Gaza. Image copyright: Stringer/Contributor/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Facts
A record-breaking 124 journalists and media workers were killed globally in 2024, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday, surpassing the previous record of 113 deaths in 2007 during the Iraq War.
According to CPJ, the Israel-Gaza war accounted for 85 journalist deaths, with Israeli forces responsible for nearly 70% of all journalist fatalities. Sudan and Pakistan tied for the second-highest number with six deaths each.
According to the report, freelance journalists faced unprecedented risks, with 43 killed in 2024, including 31 Palestinian freelancers whose reporting became more significant after many news outlets ceased operations in Gaza.
The Spin
Narrative A
This rise in the global number of journalists killed poses a threat to global democracy and freedom. Information is power, and ongoing threats to the safety of those individuals courageous enough to document conflict and geopolitical instability is a worrying trend that could lead to the further curtailing of freedoms.
Narrative B
The rising numbers of journalist deaths are not a cause in themselves, but a symptom of broader global instability and rising populism. With democracy across the world "in a state of persistent decline," all while polarization expands and public trust in establishment bodies suffers, journalists are naturally facing more and more threats. Data also suggests that conflict and political violence rose significantly in 2024, meaning an increase in the rates of journalists killed was to be expected.