“If there are mafia groups inside the government, then this is also power”

Every year on May 3, the world marks World Press Freedom Day — a date meant to remind us of the value of independent journalism. But in 2026, this day increasingly sounds less like a celebration and more like a diagnosis.

On April 30, the international organization for the protection of the press, Reporters Without Borders, published the World Press Freedom Index, an annual report on the state of press freedom.

The military escalation in the Middle East occupied a central place in Azerbaijan’s media agenda during the period under review, as the conflict unfolded in close proximity to Azerbaijan’s southern borders and quickly acquired a direct dimension for the country’s national security. The issue was made particularly sensitive by Iran’s role as a neighboring state, the presence of a multi-million Azerbaijani population on its territory, and the religious affinity between large segments of the populations of both countries.

In 2025, the Council of Europe published a report on the state of media freedom in Europe titled “On the Tipping Point.” The document, “On the Tipping Point: Press Freedom 2025,” states that last year 344 alerts concerning serious threats to media freedom were recorded across Europe.