#attack-on-journalist

#attack-on-journalist

Freedom of the press is important and journalists must be able to do their job without being subject to intimidation or harassment, the Met police said on Thursday.

Owens described how Infowars aimed to create a cinematic experience, stating, 'We would go out there, we would shoot videos like we were in the weeds, we were showing what was really going on. But it was nonsense. It was lies.'

The report describes the situation as a 'human rights emergency' and points to what it calls a 'recognizable pattern of authoritarian practices' in the country.

Figures released by the Interior Ministry showed that a total of 818 crimes targeting "media" were registered with the BKA, Germany's federal investigative police force, between April 1, 2024 and November 30, 2025. That averages out at roughly 41 cases per month over a 20-month period, and compares to 290 crimes, for an average of roughly 24 per month, in the calendar year 2023. The increase equates to roughly 71%.

A reporter at Ars Technica, whose beat was specifically reporting on AI, was fired after it turned out that a piece he had co-authored contained quotes fabricated by the AI tools he was using. Ars Technica has subsequently retracted the original story entirely, publishing an editor's note, stating that it was 'a serious failure of our standards,' but that they believe it to be an 'isolated incident.'

Of the 129 journalists killed around the world in 2025, the Israeli military was responsible for 86, about two-thirds of the deaths, the CPJ found. The death toll is the highest since the New York-based press freedom group started tracking the killing of journalists in 1992.

A record 129 journalists and media workers were killed in the course of their work in 2025, and two-thirds of them were killed by Israel, the Committee to Protect Journalists has said. It was the second straight year that killings set a record and the second straight year that Israel was responsible for two-thirds of them, the CPJ, a New York-based independent organisation that documents attacks on the press, said in its annual report.

"It's hard to interpret this as anything other than an attempt to squash the freedom of the press," one critic said.

If you've worked in a technical role in news for long enough, you likely remember when the "show your work" spirit was everywhere. Newsroom nerds shared code on GitHub, swapped tips on social media and unfurled long blogs guiding others on how to get things done. You might also have a vague sense that - like reaction GIFs, demotivational posters, and that guy who sang "Chocolate Rain" - you're seeing less of it these days.