A powerful movement of anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement protestors, demonstrating against the treatment of immigrants, stormed the streets of Los Angeles from June to August, according to The Guardian. Press organizations followed closely and were met with pushback as Los Angeles Police Department and federal officers threw tear gas into the streets.
Photojournalist Nick Stern was taken down by the striking of a baton, reporter Melanie Buer was detained and documentarian Rocky Romano’s equipment was damaged, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. These are just three stories among the growing list of people who are punished by authorities for simply exercising their right to deliver global news and search for the truth.
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to seek, share and access information freely through any means of media, according to the United Nations. However, journalists have been assaulted and treated as though their work is a threat to the public throughout history. If reporting the truth puts a journalist’s safety at risk, then freedom of speech is stripped of its meaning.
When journalists are silenced for reporting the truth, freedom of speech cannot truly exist. The protection of their right to report is essential in order to uphold democracy.
The Trump administration’s dismantling of the United States Agency for Global Media was an early warning of the threats to democracy that unfolded this summer. According to The Independent, 639 full-time staff members of Voice of America and USAGM have been laid off due to President Donald Trump’s accusations of their reporting being aligned with radical and biased views of America.
The USAGM and VOA are sources that reach global audiences, reporting in 44 different languages, addressing U.S. politics with independence from political influence. The restriction of non-partisan news from reaching global audiences is a first step towards silencing journalists, which presents a threat to democracy.
Moreover, Trump’s restrictions on news and media coverage urge U.S. citizens to disregard and dismiss independent news sources as reliable. Overall, in the U.S., just 30% of digital news consumers report that they trust the news, according to the Reuters Institute. Additionally, 73% of Americans agreed with the statement that they are concerned with their ability to tell what is true from what is false with news online. The U.S. has seen a decline in trust in the news across all age groups, however, especially in younger adults. In a time when misinformation and disinformation are increasing concerns across the world, it is even more crucial to emphasize respect towards the journalists who deliver us the truth.
This summer opened my eyes to the brutality that comes along with being a reporter. From anti-ICE protests to public meetings and “No Kings” protests, demonstrations against Trump’s political agenda, it is against the best interest of the government for these events to be broadcast, published and shared with the world. Those in power attempt to suppress the voices that tell these stories to those who can’t see them in person.
As I scrolled through The Guardian recently, I could not help but notice the warning notification at the bottom of an article. It urged Guardian readers to stay alert to the potential, increasingly authoritarian government of the U.S, and that without our support, they could be subjected to being silenced. It made me realize that for independent news sources, press freedom was not a guarantee, and if freedom of speech is threatened, so is our access to the truth.
This threat to journalistic truth has also been threatened outside of the U.S., particularly in the Middle East. On August 10, five Al Jazeera journalists were killed in their media tent near al-Shifa hospital in what was called a “targeted strike” carried out by the Israeli Defense Force, according to the BBC. These five individuals were simply doing their job, yet it cost them their lives. Journalists must be protected when working to deliver the truth, especially in large-scale conflicts such as the Israel-Hamas war.
Certain posts I saw on social media made false claims about journalists reporting in Gaza, spreading propaganda that they had backgrounds, including involvement with terrorist groups. This misinformation was shared as if it would justify their deaths, making their punishment seem less appalling. In reality, the great majority of these journalists are accredited professionals and accusations were proven to be false, according to Al Jazeera. No death of a journalist can be justified when they are simply doing their job. By discrediting or worse, killing them, misinformation wins, and true reporting dies.
We must acknowledge the fact that attacking journalists is attacking the foundations of democracy and all of the freedoms that come with it. Journalists deserve respect and the right to be safe in their workplace. Journalism spreads the truth. Without the truth, humanity disintegrates, and it is impossible to form powerful arguments for change.
This story was originally published on The Standard on September 15, 2025.