Read the full essay here.
The news media—whether in established democracies or emerging economies—are under attack. The technological revolution and the failure of free-market competition to protect factual reporting have left news outlets, particularly smaller players, increasingly vulnerable to authoritarians’ sharp-power influence campaigns. Russia tempts cash-strapped news outlets with lucrative inserts and free newswire content with a pro-Kremlin slant. China employs similar tactics with greater resources to dominate the global information space. Inadequate journalistic ethics have kept many of these engagements hidden from publics. These threats make it vital for media to work together, adopt new norms, and support individual journalists to keep press freedom alive.