In 2025, the global journalism community faced an unprecedented toll, with 129 journalists and media workers killed - the highest annual total on record, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). This marked the second consecutive year of record-breaking fatalities and the deadliest year since CPJ began tracking journalist deaths over thirty years ago. AFP reported that Israel was responsible for roughly two-thirds of these casualties.

CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg emphasized the broader implications of these deaths: “Journalists are being killed in record numbers at a time when access to information is more important than ever. We are all at risk when journalists are killed for reporting the news.” Conflict zones accounted for more than three-quarters of all deaths. Among the 86 journalists killed by Israeli fire, over 60 percent were Palestinians covering events in Gaza. The Israeli military has stated that it does not intentionally target journalists.

Ukraine and Sudan also saw rising journalist fatalities in 2025. CPJ documented a sharp increase in drone-related killings, with 39 deaths recorded worldwide: 28 in Gaza and five in Sudan at the hands of paramilitary rapid response units. Ukraine reported four journalists killed by Russian military drones, the highest annual toll since 2022, when 15 journalists died during the conflict.

Outside war zones, journalists remained highly vulnerable to organized crime and state repression. In Mexico, six journalists were murdered, all unresolved, while three were shot dead in the Philippines. A Bangladeshi reporter was killed with a machete by suspects tied to criminal networks, reflecting similar threats observed in India and Peru.

State repression also contributed to fatalities. In Saudi Arabia, prominent columnist Turki al-Jasser was executed after being convicted of what CPJ described as fabricated national security and financial charges - a move widely seen as punishment for his journalism. This marked the first documented killing of a journalist in the Gulf nation since Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in 2018.

The CPJ report underlines a persistent culture of impunity, with few transparent investigations and minimal accountability for those responsible, leaving journalists worldwide increasingly exposed to lethal risks in the course of their work.