The pandemic linked to the spread of coronavirus has had a negative impact on press freedom around the world. This is the alarm raised by the latest report from Article 19, an organisation that works globally on the defence of freedom of opinion and expression. The document starts from an important, fundamental observation by the World Health Organization (WHO): a population that is well informed about Covid-19 is better placed to counter the spread of the virus. Many governments, however, have adopted measures that in practice limit access to information relating to the pandemic. Some governments have in fact taken advantage of the context to restrict the application of human rights or to have "full powers" conferred upon them, not only in managing the emergency but also for political ends. And a situation as tense as this one from a public health perspective has brought to the surface social conflicts that had never been fully extinguished. As in the case of the racial question in the United States.

The value of communicating data and information

During the pandemic, what is at stake is not only people's health and safety, but also their right to information: "Its reduction or distortion harms the very battle against the virus," the Article 19 report states, also highlighting that information made public by governments must follow precise standards, including those relating to regularity and accessibility. For many states, guaranteeing the population and the media access to information and data is not seen as a priority. For others, secrecy is imposed to limit criticism of decision-making processes or to conceal attempts to establish a dictatorial regime. This violates the obligations under international law regarding access to public health information. "This is the moment when governments must be transparent and accountable to the people they are trying to protect." These words were spoken in April of this year by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Why the right to information matters in the fight against Covid-19

On one hand, all governments are making difficult decisions about how to respond to the pandemic; "being transparent helps ensure trust in their actions," the report emphasises. On the other hand, however, guaranteeing access to information today is essential. During this period it is not enough for states to maintain their own transparency standards. Rather, they are called upon, as required by international law, to make public all information about the health crisis and the measures adopted to counter the pandemic.

This call was reiterated by the Council of Europe, which in April stated that official communications could not be the only information channel on the pandemic: journalists, medical professionals, activists and citizens must also be able to criticise the authorities on their conduct and to monitor their responses to the crisis.

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"Europeans are searching for advice about how to deal with coronavirus and may rely upon untrustworthy sources of information."

Read our response to the @EU_Commission Communication on #disinformation and #coronavirus

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Proactive transparency is lacking at every level: the importance of whistleblowers

"Governments, but also private entities, must not use the pandemic to cover up cases of incompetence or abuse that infringe human rights," said David Banisar, head of Transparency International. From transparency to the protection of whistleblowers (informants), to the prevention of government corruption: everything revolves around every citizen's right to access data and documents held by public administrations. And also around what those administrations do not say. Healthcare workers are and have been the most exposed to the pandemic, not only because of the danger posed by the virus, but because — Article 19 continues — "they risk their careers and often even their lives due to mismanagement and criminal conduct."

When decisions are taken in emergency contexts, often outside democratic mechanisms, whistleblowers can play a key role in prevention or in bringing wrongdoing to light. "During this pandemic we have already witnessed abuses. At various points, the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and access to information have been curtailed. The cost of these actions weighs heavily on the most vulnerable members of our communities: the elderly, marginalised communities, immigrants and refugees, Lgbtq communities, prisoners, and the many precarious workers on the front line of the crisis," writes Transparency International. Whistleblowing has therefore proven to be a powerful tool for combating and preventing actions that undermine information transparency.

Brazil: coronavirus, fake news and the manipulation of information

It is precisely the most vulnerable groups in Brazilian society, for example, who are paying the price for the behaviour of their leader in recent months: Jair Bolsonaro. The president of the Latin American nation first pretended that the problem of Covid-19 did not exist, then played it down. He pressed ahead, ignoring the views of scientists and experts worldwide. Then, with disaster already unfolding, he invoked conspiracy theories without presenting evidence and entrenched himself in denialism. The country has drawn level with the United Kingdom and is fast approaching 45,000 deaths, according to data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health, placing it second in the world for fatalities. The ultra-conservative leader has managed the pandemic using the same strategy that brought him to power: poisoning public debate, making massive use of fake news and ignoring all real data. The outcome of this approach to managing both power and the pandemic is now plain for all to see, in the harrowing images of Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro transformed into a cemetery.

Bolsonaro decided to wage a war of numbers over the impact of Covid-19 in Brazil. Against every recommendation from the United Nations and the Article 19 report, the president moved the daily data releases to after 10 pm so they would not be broadcast by the most-watched evening news programme, the Jornal Nacional on Rede Globo. In addition, the Ministry of Health decided to stop publishing the cumulative total of infections and deaths, while also promising a comprehensive investigation into the data transmitted so far by the individual states' departments.

The authoritarian turn passes through the censorship of information. In Brazil and in Hungary

As well as being the second most active epicentre of Covid-19's spread after the United States, Brazil risks finding itself at the centre of the classic "perfect storm" that would push people to accept military intervention as the lesser evil. The risk of an authoritarian move is dismissed by the army itself, which today, however, occupies 10 of the 22 seats in the Brazilian executive. Many observers, including the New York Times, are convinced that there is weariness and deep disillusionment in the country. Even among those who voted for "the man who came from nowhere" to make Brazil great again: Bolsonaro. Acting within the profound social divide that has emerged are Nazi-inspired groups. From 40 websites that appeared in 2018, the network is now crowded with 240 portals displaying Hitler symbols and slogans. And some national-socialist flags were waved at the latest demonstrations in São Paulo against the lockdown.

In Hungary, too, phase 2 of the pandemic smacks of denial — in this case, of human rights. Not just of Article 19. Opposition politicians under the government of full-powers holder Viktor Orbán, and civil society figures, have been on the receiving end of arrests, searches and seizures of computers and smartphones. The offence? Having shared critical posts about the Budapest government and its handling of the coronavirus. The measures carried out by the police are legally underpinned by "anti-alarmism" provisions (a label that is itself alarming) passed by the majority supporting Orbán. The state of emergency justified by the pandemic allows the Hungarian authorities to impose prison sentences of one to five years for spreading "alarmist news". A stab in the back for Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which reads: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right not to be harassed for their opinion."

Reporting in the USA between the pandemic and racism

The situation in the United States is tense from a public health standpoint: the States are the world's leading country for both Covid-19 infections and deaths. This has brought to the surface social conflicts that never truly subsided. As in the case of the racial question. While infections in the United States have comfortably exceeded two million and the death toll runs into hundreds of thousands, protests are blazing in at least 30 cities following the killing by police of George Floyd, an African American who died on 25 May during his arrest in Minneapolis. Despite the pandemic, this episode has thrust back into the spotlight the never-dormant issue of racism, which has spilled over into violent clashes between protesters and police.

So far, the organisation Reporters Without Borders (Rsf) has recorded at least 68 documented incidents against journalists, perpetrated by both police and protesters. The most glaring episode was the live on-air arrest of a CNN crew covering the protests in Minneapolis on 29 May. "The demonisation of the media, pursued by President Trump for years, is now an established fact. Now it is both the police and the protesters who are targeting journalists, identified and pursued with violence and arrests," said Christophe Deloire, secretary general of Rsf. And there is more: also in Minneapolis, Australian correspondent for 9News Tim Arvier ended up in handcuffs while doing his job. And again: in Las Vegas, photojournalist Bridget Bennett was arrested for "failure to disperse," according to the police report, from the site of a protest march where police had intervened. The journalist was also held for an entire night while working on an assignment for the agency Afp.

Although the United States ranks only 45th out of 180 countries in Rsf's press freedom index (the Freedom Press World 2020), "all authorities must ensure the full protection of journalists in order to honour the founding principles of democracy with respect for press freedom," Deloire concluded. Whether the story being told is the pandemic or the anti-racism protests.