The tools used to monitor journalists — once confined to intelligence agencies — are now commercially available, widely deployed, and capable of accessing a phone without the target ever clicking a link. On World Press Freedom Day, May 3, the International Federation of Journalists put that reality at the center of its annual assessment of global press conditions, publishing findings that describe not a gradual erosion of media freedom but an accelerating one.
The IFJ, which represents more than 600,000 media professionals across 148 countries, called the global state of press freedom “deplorable.” UNESCO’s latest World Trends Report on Freedom of Expression and Media Development adds the statistical frame: press freedom has fallen 10% since 2012, a decline the IFJ said is comparable to some of the most unstable periods of the 20th century.
128 deaths, and counting
The human cost in 2025 was 128 journalists killed. The IFJ said additional deaths have already been recorded in 2026. Reporters working in conflict zones face the sharpest risks — in Ukraine, Palestine, Lebanon, and Sudan, journalists have been arrested, displaced, or killed while carrying out their work. Individuals identified as press are increasingly becoming deliberate targets rather than incidental casualties.
IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger described each attack as an act with consequences beyond the individual.
“Every attack on a media professional is an attack aimed at silencing a story intended to inform citizens,” Bellanger said, adding that restrictions on journalism ultimately prevent the public from making informed decisions.
Spyware without borders
In a study published April 28 — “Global Surveillance of Journalists: A Technical Mapping of Tools, Tactics and Threats” — the IFJ documented what it describes as a convergence of state intelligence capabilities, private-sector tools, and weak regulatory frameworks.
The report, which draws on cybersecurity expert interviews and technical investigations conducted between 2021 and 2025, identifies commercial spyware systems including Pegasus, Predator, and Graphite as now widely available beyond their original government-intelligence markets. All three are capable of “zero-click” intrusions — accessing a target’s device with no interaction required from the user.
The IFJ found these technologies are frequently deployed with limited oversight, leaving journalists monitored without accountability and with few legal avenues for redress.
AI as force multiplier
The IFJ study also raises concerns about artificial intelligence extending the reach of existing surveillance infrastructure. Data gathered through digital monitoring — communications, location history, online activity — can be fed into AI systems that analyze it at scale. In conflict environments, the report said, such systems can combine telecommunications data with drone feeds, enabling the identification and tracking of journalists in the field.
Beyond targeted surveillance, the IFJ warned of AI-driven disinformation, identity theft, and automated content systems that bypass editorial standards entirely.
Lead study author Samar Al Halal said the effects compound in ways that damage journalism even when no direct harm occurs.
“When journalists are watched, sources disappear, investigations stop, and self-censorship becomes normal,” Al Halal said. “The public doesn’t just lose information, it loses the ability to hold power accountable.”
What the IFJ is demanding
The organization is calling on governments to enact laws protecting press freedom and regulating surveillance technologies, restrict the export and use of commercial spyware, and strengthen legal safeguards for journalists’ sources. The surveillance report specifically recommends increased investment in digital security training and stronger protections for encryption and anonymity.
The broader context makes those demands urgent. A 10% global decline in press freedom over 13 years, 128 journalists dead in a single year, and surveillance tools that require no mistake from their targets — the infrastructure for silencing reporters has rarely been more capable or more available.
