Record Number of Journalists Killed in 2025, Israel at the Forefront

A Grim Year for Journalism

The year 2025 marked a tragic milestone for journalism, with 129 journalists losing their lives, making it the deadliest year since 1992, according to an annual report from a global media watchdog.

Israel accounted for approximately 69% of these fatalities, with 89 journalists killed, highlighting a disturbing trend of targeted violence against the press in the region.

Additionally, journalists in non-conflict zones, such as India, faced lethal threats due to the ongoing negligence of government officials in safeguarding press freedom.

The report specifically mentioned the assassination of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, who was known for his YouTube channel Bastar Junction. He was killed on January 1, 2025, allegedly due to his investigations into corruption in a road construction project in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, where his body was discovered in a septic tank on the contractor's property.

Jodie Ginsberg, the CEO of the media watchdog, emphasized the critical need for protecting journalists, stating, "The rising number of journalist fatalities is alarming, especially when access to information is crucial for society."

She further noted that assaults on the media often signal broader threats to civil liberties, urging for more robust measures to prevent such killings and hold offenders accountable.

The report also highlighted that global conflicts are at their highest since World War II, which has escalated risks for journalists, who are increasingly being targeted in these volatile situations.

In Sudan, for instance, nine journalists were killed in 2025, a rise from six in the previous year, as the civil war continues to ravage the nation.

In Ukraine, four journalists were killed by Russian drones, marking the highest annual toll for the press in the ongoing conflict since 2022.

The report criticized Israel's blatant disregard for the safety of journalists and international laws designed to protect them, stating that the full extent of the targeting of Palestinian journalists in Gaza may never be fully understood due to the destruction of evidence.

This report follows a recent statement from an international journalists' federation, which revealed that 533 journalists were imprisoned for their work in 2025, with the Asia-Pacific region seeing the highest number of incarcerations, particularly in China and Myanmar.

In 2024, the federation had recorded 122 journalist deaths and 516 imprisonments.