EU Ambassador to Eswatini, Karsten Mecklenburg, said this on 02 May 2025 in Mbabane when addressing journalists and other media practitioners during the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day at Mountain View hotel. The EU supported this annual event.

Ambassador Mecklenburg said World Press Freedom Day, commemorated on 03 May, was an annual reminder of the importance of a free press and freedom of expression as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

He further said the day also constantly reminds governments around the world of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom. 

“It is also a day of reflection among media professionals, such as yourselves gathered here today, about issues of press freedom and professional ethics,” the Ambassador told the journalists.

“Therefore, as a staunch defender of the right to freedom of expression, the EU condemns all forms of threats and violence against journalists and supports media workers in danger through dedicated programmes such as the Safejournalists platform in the Western Balkans, the Support to independent media and fundamental freedoms project in Cambodia and the Media Resilience programme in Afghanistan,” he added.

The local theme for this year’s commemoration was: “Implications of significant transformation in the media landscape and enhancing partnership for development with the European Union”.

The Ambassador said this local theme complemented the international theme: “Reporting in the Brave New World: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Media.”

“We are living in the age of ever-evolving digital information. Such digital transformation has taken us to the whole new world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Today, AI is transforming all sectors including journalism. It provides tools that enhance investigative reporting, content creation and fact-checking. AI also allows for greater efficiency, multilingual accessibility and improved data analysis.

“However, these advancements also bring disadvantages and risks. AI can generate misinformation and disinformation and it is important that media professionals are well conversant with the safe usage of AI,” said Ambassador Mecklenburg.

He said the EU was building up critical capacity to counter misinformation and disinformation, particularly foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), thus helping EU citizens to strengthen their resilience to disinformation, manipulation and propaganda, with initiatives such as the EUvsDisinfo platform and the European Digital Media Observatory. 

“Why is the EU doing this? It is because information manipulation by foreign and domestic actors has been on the rise since the last few years and has become a critical feature of political, social and economic discourses, challenging democratic systems, social cohesion, security and stability in many countries.”

The Ambassador added: “In the face of these threats posed by FIMI, we cannot over-emphasise the importance of fact-based journalism. Fact and evidence-based journalism is very important to counter dis- and misinformation thus ensuring that citizens enjoy their rights to accessing credible and accurate information and make right choices for their lives.”

He then encouraged all journalists in Eswatini to continue to uphold press freedom despite all odds, saying they were the fourth estate and their role was crucial.