Waterloo Region Record

Journalist deaths jumped 50% in 2022

Killings of journalists around the world jumped by 50 per cent in 2022 compared to the previous year, driven largely by attacks in Ukraine, Mexico and Haiti.

According to a report Tuesday by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 67 news media workers were killed worldwide in 2022, the highest number since 2018. Journalists in the three countries say the increased danger has forced them to work under extreme stress.

The effect is particularly notable in Haiti, where seven journalists were killed in 2022, a huge number for a small island country of about 12 million people. Some were killed by violent street gangs that have basically taken over the capital, Port au Prince, but at least two were shot by police.

Radio Caraibes reporter Mackenson Remy, who still covers news on the street, said journalists no longer know who to trust. “Reporting in Haiti nowadays is extremely difficult for journalists, specifically in the capital,” Remy said. “Corruption is all over the place; there is no one you are able to count on.”

Remy compared his work driving around the city’s streets, carved up into gang territories, to the 1998 movie “The Truman Show,” in which the protagonist always feels like he’s being watched.

The CPJ noted that more than half — 35 of the 67 killings — took place in just three countries: Ukraine, Mexico and Haiti.

CANADA & WORLD

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2023-01-25T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-25T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://waterloorecord.pressreader.com/article/281651079236254

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