Thoughts on World Press Freedom Day

By
Friday, 2 May 2014

The United Nations has designated May 3 as World Press Freedom Day. It provides a moment for reflection about the importance of freedom of the press, and the state of that freedom around the world.

Thoughts on World Press Freedom Day

The day also serves as a reminder that constraints on press freedoms exist around the world — and that all too often in certain countries, journalists and media entities are subject to censorship, fines, harassment, detention, and even physical violence. On this day, we also remember the journalists who have lost their lives in the pursuit of truth through their journalistic efforts.

Twitter is an open platform that lets anyone, including journalists, to send and receive short messages. In this way, the public and open nature of this real-time communication platform illuminates and disseminates breaking news and information. We know that journalists around the world value the Twitter platform and make significant use of it. Their voices and perspectives are part of what helps make Twitter interesting and informative to the millions of users who use Twitter, or see Tweets, every day.

For this reason, defending and respecting the user’s voice is a core value of the company. It is that value that flows directly to our commitment to freedom of expression.

Today we are joining many other organizations to encourage Twitter users to tweet their observations and thoughts about #PressFreedom.