Yes, journalism is under siege by artificial intelligence.

I do not consider myself a great admirer of UNESCO, as it has fundamental shortcomings like all other United Nations organizations.

But today, I do not hesitate to endorse what UNESCO has done this year on World Press Day. This year’s theme, “Journalism under a digital siege.” is an assertion that I know from experience to be an urgently worthy focal point for worldwide action.

While holding a camera in an advanced position in battles such as the Desert Storm, the Palestinian intifada, or the bloody streets of Mogadishu, you felt fortunate to escape death –which results in an adrenaline rush no less enjoyable than the experience of being alone with the leader gifted with a sense of humor and a desire to appear on a leading global channel.

As someone who survived a cruise missile landing on Baghdad’s Al Rasheed Hotel in 1993, I can say journalists go into this profession well aware of the violence perpetrated by state actors, terrorist groups, or powerful criminals when covering business malfeasance.

But this year’s World Press Day highlights the new dangers digital technology poses to journalist safety and freedom of expression.

Emerging threats identified by groups, including Amnesty International’s Security Lab, document our reduced access to information and safety and the increasing violation of our personal and professional rights to privacy.

Last November, Apple informed me that a state-sponsored hacker had gained access to my phone, so I am more than confident that I am among the scores of journalists targeted by governments using NSO software.

When you enter the MENA region’s satellite broadcasting production services business, you find yourself in the middle of a dense forest, where it’s challenging to distinguish players from their shadows or ghosts.

The landscape is even more haunting for journalists when they fear their smartphones are infected by spyware like Pegasus, able to secretly steal personal data, read conversations, and switch on microphones and cameras in the direction of state agencies.

But today, the draining challenges faced by media entrepreneurs in the region are almost unbearable. Emergency powers are ripe for abuse in a context where freedom of speech is already highly politicized –something I faced when officials in Amman shut down my station Jordan Today in December 2019

When I began my career in the news business, I was a broadcast engineer determined to deploy technology to tell the stories of the people we met in the field, conveying both the viewpoints of those with political power and those seeking it. But we now see a shift where governments harness tech against the truth-tellers and the people whose job is to lift the voices of the silenced majority.

Sadly UNESCO rarely engages independent media entrepreneurs like me when setting their themes for World Press Day.

But today, I don’t hesitate to say, “thank you.”

Thank you for your title this year, “Journalism Under Digital Siege.” It is an issue of existential urgency and is likely only to be exacerbated by the rise of artificial intelligence.

 

By Mohammad Fakhri Al-Ajlouni