In the context of World Press Freedom Day 2025, academic Javier García participated in the meeting “Building Bridges between Communication Research and Society”, organized by the Chilean Association of Communication Researchers (INCOM) and the Faculty of Communications of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. In his intervention, he addressed the growing risks faced by journalism in the country.
The event was held on Friday, May 9th at the Central House of Universidad Católica and brought together academics, researchers and representatives of national and international organizations. Javier García, co-researcher of Fondecyt Project 1230748 and director of the Observatory of the Right to Communication (ODC), took part in the panel “Insecurity and Exercise of Journalism in Uncertain Contexts”, where he presented his work about risk perceptions and major attacks on freedom of the press and freedom of expression in Chile.
Attacks against the Press in the Current Context
During his presentation, García delved into attacks against the press, claiming that before 2022, Chile did not appear in the monitoring indicators of Voces del Sur as a country with cases of murdered journalists. However, he said that the scenario has become more complex than what is perceived: “When we talk with the academia or other journalists, we realize that there is a false perception of security,” he stated.
He added that violence against journalists is increasing and diversifying and that the current conditions are still insufficient to guarantee the safety of those practicing communication work. Although the number of attacks has not grown significantly in quantity, the seriousness of these cases has increased.
During the event’s closing, General Government Undersecretary Nicole Cardoch shared an optimistic message about press freedom in Chile in her final remarks. She declared that “fortunately, we have not had harassed or attacked journalists or communicators”. For this reason, we invite you to read the letter to the editor issued by our co-researcher..
Minutes earlier, García had presented findings from the 2024 report on attacks against the press published by the Observatory of the Right to Communication, which indicates that 94 attacks or aggressions were recorded in Chile, 27% more than in the previous year (2023), warning that legal harassment and physical and digital violence against communicators has increased.
The primary focus of the event organized by INCOM was to highlight the contribution of the academia to the relationship between communication and citizenship. Issues such as freedom of expression and the use of artificial intelligence were addressed, emphasizing the risks and challenges for the right to information. The need to establish policies that guarantee an ethical and responsible use of AI according to international human rights standards was also discussed, underlining the role of information as a public good.
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