Jan 2, 2022 - World

Media watchdog: 45 journalists were killed in 2021

Ivana Saric

Photographers pay homage to Reuters journalist Danish Siddiqui in front of his portrait at Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu on July 20, 2021 — Photographers pay homage to Reuters journalist Danish Siddiqui on July 20, 2021, after the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer was killed covering fighting between Afghan security forces and the Taliban. Photo: Prakash Mathema/AFP via Getty Images

A total of 45 journalists and media staffers were killed while doing their jobs in 2021, according to a new report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).

Why it matters: The figure is a significant decrease from 2020, when 65 journalists were killed, and in fact is among the lowest death tolls the IFJ said it has ever recorded.

Details: The deaths were spread around the world. Twenty journalists were killed in Asia and the Pacific, 10 in the Americas, eight in Africa, six in Europe, and one in the Middle East and Arab world.

An additional two journalists were killed in an accident in Iran, per the IFJ.
Thirty-three were murdered in targeted attacks, the group said.

Afghanistan was the most dangerous country to be a journalist in 2021, with a reported 9 journalists or media staffers being killed.

The deaths also included eight journalists killed in Mexico, four in India, and three in Pakistan.

What they're saying: "These 45 colleagues we lost to violence this year remind us of the terrible sacrifice journalists across the world continue to pay for serving the public interest and we remain in the debt to them and thousands of others who paid the ultimate price," IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger, said in the press release.

Worth noting: Last month, the IFJ reported that 365 journalists worldwide remained in prison in 2021.

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Media watchdog: 45 journalists were killed in 2021

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