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At a time when anyone can publish, comment on, and share content, the idea of doing without intermediaries can be tempting. Yet it is misleading. An abundance of information guarantees neither its quality nor its accuracy. Social media and digital platforms may offer endless possibilities for documenting events in real time, reaching new audiences, and amplifying marginalized voices but they also pose major challenges to the quality of information and the sustainability of journalism.

During recent conflicts and major political events, the massive circulation of misinformation has shown just how fragile the border between information and manipulation can be. The rise of AI-generated content and “deepfakes”, which attribute fictional statements to public figures, tests our collective ability to discern the truth. The challenge is no longer simply to produce information, or even to access it, but to strengthen critical thinking, distinguish the true from the false, the essential from the trivial, and fact from opinion.

This is precisely the role of journalism: to investigate, verify and provide context. Yet the media must have the necessary means to do so. Facing reduced advertising revenue, dwindling audiences and a crisis of trust within public opinion, many newsrooms are struggling to survive. Added to these troubles are the threats directly targeting media professionals. In many parts of the world, journalists are murdered, or subjected to intimidation, unjust prosecution, and violence.

Defending press freedom is not just a concern for media professionals: it is a responsibility for society as a whole. Behind every investigation that exposes injustice, every report that sheds light on a crisis and every fact-check that debunks a rumour, our collective ability to understand the world is at stake. New digital tools and the emerging coalitions of journalists, working together to analyze global events and issues, are pushing the boundaries of intellectual cooperation in the name of truth and the common good.

Independent journalism retains the same basic principles, but the landscape in which it operates has changed profoundly. How can we make sure it endures and reinvents itself? What new skills must be developed for it to serve the common good in the pursuit of truth? We must answer these questions urgently to maintain a public sphere grounded in verified facts and informed debate.

Agnès Bardon
Editor-in-Chief