By Benjamin A. Smith

Journalism is a dangerous gig. With the sanctity of human life digressing in many parts of the world, any journalist nosy enough to report a powerful cartel’s inconvenient truth may find themselves staring down the barrel of a gun. Ever steadily, more jurisdictions are becoming insecure, exposing journalists to the dark side of the profession they presumably adore. Is there a solution to this appalling predicament? Perhaps. And it might come from a most unexpected bedfellow — the blockchain.

Before we dive in, some context on the scope of the problem is warranted.

According to the International Federation of Journalists, between 113 and 135 journalists were killed on the job between 2013–2016 per year. Naturally, while most of these deaths occurred in war zones, many also transpired close to American soil in so-called “peace” times.

For example, in 2017, while 82 journalists died worldwide, 13 of those happened in Mexico. Keep in mind, the true number is likely higher since citizens moonlighting as journalists (part-timers) may not be fully accounted for in the statistics.

Beyond the hazards, there’s a related problem, which is insidious in its own right — state censorship. Journalistic violence and censorship are really just two sides of the same coin, and used reciprocally in order to silence dissent.

Generally speaking, the west tends to forget that a “free” press isn’t so free in most jurisdictions on earth. Whether that comes by way of explicit or implicit force doesn’t much matter. Ultimately, the insecurity is both a problem for the storyteller and the story. Without unobstructed access to the truth, the latter becomes little more than state propaganda.

Sadly, that’s exactly what nearly half the world is exposed to on a daily basis. As the 2017 Freedom House report discovers, forty-five percent of the population lives in countries where the media environment is Not Free. This definition is defined by conditions where a journalist’s safety is not guaranteed, state intrusion in media affairs is overbearing, and the press is subject to onerous legal or economic pressures.

Censorship — The Ugly Truth