Haiti’s journalists faced an extraordinarily dangerous professional environment in 2021, with threats, attacks, and killings making the country one of the most hazardous for press freedom in the Western Hemisphere. The combination of gang violence, political tension following the assassination, and the general breakdown of rule of law created conditions in which journalism — particularly investigative and accountability journalism — had become a life-threatening occupation.
Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists documented multiple cases of journalists detained, beaten, or threatened while covering events in 2021. Several journalists were specifically targeted by gangs for their coverage of criminal activities, receiving explicit threats that forced some to go into hiding or leave the country. The killing of journalists during protests or in gang-controlled areas was among the most alarming trends in an already alarming situation.
The digital environment provided some new tools for Haitian journalists — social media platforms allowed them to publish directly without relying on traditional media infrastructure that gangs could physically threaten. But digital communication also came with its own risks: online threats and harassment campaigns targeted journalists who published sensitive material, and the doxxing of journalists’ personal information created physical security risks.
International press freedom organizations called for the protection of Haitian journalists to be treated as a priority in any discussions of rule of law and governance reform. They argued that without a free press capable of investigating and reporting without fear, the accountability mechanisms essential for any democratic governance were impossible to maintain.