Practising journalism in Latin America has always been challenging, requiring perseverance and heroism. Threats and intimidation are common, with some dictatorships ranking among the worst in press freedom indexes. Countries like Cuba and Nicaragua have poor records on press freedom, while Mexico has seen seven journalist murders this year up to August 15th. Journalists face intimidation from far-right and left-wing governments, which often view the press as an enemy.
The press faces new challenges, including algorithmic changes and unauthorized use of journalistic content to feed Artificial Intelligence models. This has led to a devastating wave of erosion in the journalistic ecosystem. To survive, the press must be resilient and robust, economically healthy, and long-term viable. The destruction of professional journalism would benefit authoritarian regimes and corrupt governments but not Big Tech and AI models.
Verified, balanced, and pluralistic information is increasingly scarce in a world manipulated by deepfakes. Professional journalism is a precious asset that should be treated as such by billionaire AI platforms. These platforms spend heavily on talent, software, and data centers but refuse to properly compensate newsrooms for their critical input. Without professional journalism, AI platforms' data will become a quagmire of misinformation.
The consequences of a decline in professional journalism are severe. Without investigative reporting, corrupt individuals and environmental destroyers will act with impunity. Society will lose its sense of checks and balances, becoming increasingly hostage to extremism and polarization. Reliable journalism is essential to decision-making processes in democracies.
Marcelo Rech, a journalist and Executive President of the Brazilian Newspaper Association, highlights the challenges faced by journalism in Latin America. He draws parallels with a Brazilian film, I'm Still Here, which narrates a family's resistance against a military dictatorship. Despite facing violence, persecution, and AI threats, journalism in Latin America perseveres.
The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University found that 52% of young people between 18 and 24 get their news primarily from social media. This trend leads to a deceived mass and the spread of misinformation, as seen in the case of Ceuta, where over 70,000 Moroccans were misled into believing a piece of disinformation.
The situation is sobering, with the erosion of the journalistic ecosystem potentially leading to an informational hell. However, Rech remains hopeful, citing a Brazilian oral tradition that proclaims as long as there is bamboo, there will be arrows. Journalism in Latin America continues to resist and provide reliable information, despite the numerous threats it faces.
Key points
- Journalism in Latin America faces threats from violence, persecution, and AI.
- The press must be resilient and robust to survive.
- Professional journalism is essential to maintaining a healthy democracy.
