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Pope Leo XIV on Thursday encouraged international news agencies to stand firm against the “ancient art of lying” and manipulation, as he strongly supported a free, independent and objective press.
first in history American The Pope called for the release of jailed journalists and said that the work of journalists should never be considered a crime. Rather, journalism is a right and a pillar sustaining “the edifice of our society” that must be protected and defended, he said.
“If we knew what’s happening today Gaza, ukraine And every other land bled by bombs, we owe a lot to them,” Leo said of journalists. ”These extraordinary eyewitness accounts are the culmination of the daily efforts of countless people who work to ensure that information is not manipulated for purposes that are contrary to the truth and human dignity. ,
Leo’s comments came in a speech to executives from international news agencies belonging to MINDS International, a consortium of major agencies including the Associated Press.
In his five months as pope, Chicago-born Leo has spoken out strongly on the need to protect freedom of expression and the rights of journalists. In his first meeting with journalists right after his election, Leo called for the release of imprisoned journalists and affirmed “the precious gift of free speech and the press.”
More recently, he stressed that journalism is “not only an act of justice, but the duty of all who aspire to a solid and participatory democracy.” In a letter to a Peruvian journalist repeatedly prosecuted for her work, Leo affirmed that freedom of the press was an “indivisible common good”.
On Thursday, he strongly encouraged news agencies to stand firm amid the twin crises they are facing, with economic pressure threatening their existence and consumers becoming unable to differentiate between truth and falsehood.
“I urge you: never sell your rights!” Leo said.
Citing Hannah Arendt’s “The Origins of Totalitarianism”, he said the world needs independent and objective information. He cited his warning that “the ideal subjects of a totalitarian regime are not convinced Nazis or convinced Communists, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and between true and false no longer exists.”
Leo said that despite the challenges posed by artificial intelligence today, news agencies must stand firm.
He said, “With your patience and hard work, you can act as a barrier against those who seek to create division to rule by dividing through the ancient art of lying.” “You may also become a defender of civilization against the quicksand of approximation and post-truth.”
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