Killed for doing their work: 2025 another deadly year for journalists.

The number of murdered journalists worldwide has risen from the previous year’s record figure of 54, to a new high of 67 in 2025, according to a report published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). This can be attributed to the criminal practices of military groups, both regular and paramilitary, and to organised crime. At least 53 of the media professionals killed over the past year were victims of war or criminal networks. In addition, hundreds of journalists are imprisoned and subjected to other forms of censorship.

The RSF figures, which were released to coincide with the United Nations Human Rights Day on 10 December show, once again, that the most extreme forms of censorship against journalists – murder, detention, enforced disappearance, and hostage-taking – are not only continuing, but growing.

Journalists killed in major conflicts

In 2025, 67 journalists were killed, with almost half of them (43%) killed by the Israeli armed forces in Gaza. Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed nearly 220 journalists, at least 65 of them either due to their work or while they were working.

Meanwhile, Russia continues targeting both local and international reporters with lethal force in Ukraine. However, the majority of globally recorded deaths are still reporters working in their own countries.

In Mexico, where organised crime groups continue to gun down journalists, 2025 has been the most deadly of the past three years. Worryingly, this is a trend that seems to be spreading across Latin American countries.

In Africa, Sudan has also now become yet another exceptionally dangerous conflict zone for media workers.

Imprisonment in China, Russia, and worldwide

Worldwide, 503 journalists are behind bars, with China (121), Russia (48), and Myanmar (47) jailing the highest numbers of media professionals. 

In Russia, just over half of those imprisoned (26) are Ukrainian, with Israel coming second in the league of countries imprisoning a high proportion of foreign journalists. Of the 20 Palestinian journalists in custody in Israel, 16 were arrested in the last two years.

However, it is Xi Jinping’s Republic of China, where – as of 1 December 2025 – 113 media professionals were in prison, with another eight imprisoned in Hong Kong, which takes the global lead in imprisoning journalists.

The missing and the hostages

There are also 135 journalists reported missing globally, with Syria, Mexico, Latin America, Iraq and the Middle East accounting for over 70% of the total number. Syria alone makes up more than a quarter of the total, with 37 missing journalists.

Distressingly, some of that 135 have now been missing for over 30 years.

Hostage-taking is another form of silencing journalism, and there are 20 hostages worldwide. Yemen heads the count here, with seven hostages taken by Houthi rebels in 2025, followed by Syria and Mali.

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RSF leadership speaks out

Launching the report, Thibaut Bruttin, RSF Director General, said: “This is where the hatred of journalists leads! It led to the death of 67 journalists this year – not by accident, and they weren’t collateral victims.”

In other words, they were killed: targeted for their work.

Bruttin continued: “It is perfectly legitimate to criticise the media – criticism should serve as a catalyst for change that ensures the survival of the free press, a public good. But it must never descend into hatred for journalists…”

He also criticised the lack of a major international response to the plight of journalists, stating: “This is where impunity for these crimes leads us: the failure of international organisations that are no longer able to ensure journalists’ right to protection in armed conflicts is the consequence of a global decline in the courage of governments, which should be implementing protective public policies.”

He concluded, solemnly:

“We must be wary of false notions about reporters: no one gives their lives for journalism — it is taken from them…journalists do not just die – they are killed.”

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