Pulitzer Center Update May 2, 2025
Journalists Under Threat, but Rising to the Challenge
This World Press Freedom Day, Reflecting and Pushing Forward
“People don’t hate journalists enough.”
Even for a president who insults journalists routinely over normal coverage of his administration, the latest tirade by Argentine President Javier Milei was shocking in its menace. It comes at a moment when officials from Washington to New Delhi are also inciting hatred of the free press.
I am from Argentina, and I am a citizen of the United States. For the first time in 22 years living in the U.S., press freedom is under siege in both places I call home.
In my book, this was not supposed to happen in the U.S., the country of the First Amendment, the Freedom of Information Act, Watergate, and the Pentagon Papers.
Yet here we are, witnessing the Associated Press semi-banned from the White House; corporate media settling frivolous lawsuits by President Trump to protect their other businesses; storied journalists exiting storied programs such as 60 Minutes over a loss of editorial independence.
It’s tempting to feel we have little to celebrate on World Press Freedom Day. Still, as challenges rise, the Pulitzer Center’s partner journalists and outlets are doubling down on rigor, independence, and creativity. The more they are threatened, the busier they get. Their stories spark dialogue and change, and they make powerful people uncomfortable.
Recently, OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, subtly discouraged his followers from reading Karen Hao’s much-anticipated book on Open AI, Empire of AI. Hao, who has pioneered the field of investigations on AI’s impacts, is the lead designer of the Pulitzer Center’s AI Spotlight Series, a state-of-the-art training program that supports journalists reporting on AI systems, companies, and economics.
Reporting by another Pulitzer Center partner, Sofia Schurig of Brazil’s Núcleo, recently prompted Brazil’s consumer protection officials to request an inquiry into Meta, the social media giant that owns Instagram and Facebook. Schurig and her colleagues found 14 Instagram accounts featuring child sexual exploitation content generated by artificial intelligence; after the journalists contacted the company, Meta removed the accounts.
Our mission at the Pulitzer Center is to make stories like these possible, and to develop compelling ways to connect audiences with journalism through art, education, civic dialogue, and more.
We are convinced that amid our democracies’ struggles—and in spite of them—independent journalists will do their most consequential work.
Onward,
Impact
The Queens of Queen City, a Pulitzer Center-supported story and photo series, has won a National Press Photographers Association award. The project explores the drag culture of the Appalachian town of Cumberland, Maryland, and its significance for both the legacy and future of the region’s LGBTQ+ community.
For his compelling visual storytelling, photographer Michael O. Snyder earned first place for the Cliff Edom New America Award, which celebrates excellence in photojournalism highlighting underreported communities and issues across the United States.
See the full project The Queens of Queen City and explore more Pulitzer Center-supported reporting on LGBTQ+ rights.
Photo of the Week
“Documenting the story of Mother Ieda de Ogum and the impact of the flood on this sacred ground was a powerful experience. Nearly three months after the flood, people were still struggling to rebuild what was lost and dealing with the vanishing of memories caused by the water. Photographing and sharing this was essential to ensure that this story reached more people and didn't fall into oblivion."
—Desirée Ferreira [translated from Portuguese]
This message first appeared in the May 2, 2025, edition of the Pulitzer Center's weekly newsletter. Subscribe today.
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