LONDON: The number of journalists and media workers killed worldwide in 2025 has already matched last year’s record high of 126 deaths, according to new data released by the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The watchdog says this year’s death toll was once again driven by Israel’s ongoing attacks on journalists in Gaza, alongside escalating risks in Sudan, Iran, Yemen and other conflict zones.
With more than two weeks of the year remaining, the CPJ described the situation as “another record year of killings.”
“At a time of rising global instability, access to accurate information is more important than ever — yet journalists continue to be killed in record numbers,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “In too many cases, those responsible for journalists’ deaths are getting away with murder.”
She added the record number of deaths showed “not enough is being done globally to tackle attacks on the press.”
Israel’s war on Gaza has become the deadliest conflict for journalists in CPJ’s records, with nearly 250 media workers killed since 2023. The watchdog said this “more journalists than have been killed by any other nation since CPJ began keeping records in 1992.”
In 2025 alone, at least 86 journalists and media workers were killed by Israeli attacks — up from 85 last year — with many deaths recorded after October’s ceasefire agreement.
The CPJ said that in multiple cases, journalists were “deliberately targeted,” and reiterated calls for international accountability. The organization also referenced international rights groups and UN experts who have described the Israeli campaign in Gaza as a genocide.
Sudan emerged as another epicenter of media violence. In 2025, at least nine journalists were killed, bringing the total to 15 since the civil war erupted two years ago. The CPJ said journalists in Sudan have faced abductions, rape and forced displacement, with the Rapid Support Forces implicated in multiple attacks.
Four journalists were killed this year in Russia’s military offensive on Ukraine, marking an increase from one death recorded last year.
Beyond active conflict zones, journalists continued to face lethal threats in politically unstable environments. In Mexico, six journalists were killed in 2025, up from five the previous year, while three were killed in the Philippines.
The organization highlighted the persistence of press killings in India, Pakistan and Iraq, where decades of violence, weak legal frameworks and political targeting have left journalists vulnerable.
