# 129 journalists were killed in 2025 — the deadliest year the CPJ has ever counted > The Committee to Protect Journalists attributes about two thirds of those deaths to the Israeli military, most of them Palestinians reporting from Gaza. It is the second record year in a row. - **Publisher:** VOTVS (Fair coverage for everyone) — https://votvs.com - **Author:** VOTVS - **Published:** 2026-08-18 - **Language:** en - **Topic:** Press freedom - **Canonical URL:** https://votvs.com/en/articles/record-year-for-killing-journalists - **Tags:** press freedom, gaza, journalists, accountability - **Facts last verified:** 18 August 2026 --- The Committee to Protect Journalists has been counting since 1992. On **25 February 2026**, it published the highest number it has ever recorded. **129 journalists and media workers were killed in 2025.** More than in any single year of the previous three decades of its data. And it was the second record year in a row — 2024 held the previous high. CPJ attributes about **two-thirds of those deaths to the Israeli military**. The majority of the people in that group were Palestinian journalists reporting from Gaza. ## The category that matters most CPJ separates deaths by circumstance. *Crossfire* is one category. *Dangerous assignment* is another. The third is **murder** — its classification for a journalist deliberately targeted because of their work. In 2025, CPJ classified **47 deaths as murder**. **Figure (StatRow):** CPJ's 2025 count — Committee to Protect Journalists, published 25 February 2026. CPJ's finding on those 47 cases is a single sentence: no one has been held accountable in any of them. No prosecution has followed in any of them. ## Where else it happened The 2025 deaths were not confined to one conflict. CPJ's country breakdown includes: **Figure (BarSet):** Journalists killed in 2025, selected countries — Committee to Protect Journalists, 25 February 2026. Excludes deaths attributed to Israel, reported separately. Bangladesh, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nepal, Peru, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia each recorded one. Sudan appearing second is consistent with everything else about that war: it is enormous, it is under-covered, and part of the reason it is under-covered is that reporting from it kills people. Mexico's six were killed nowhere near a battlefield. That is the other version of this story — the one where a reporter covering local corruption is shot outside their home, and the case is never solved. ## Impunity is the mechanism, not the aftermath CPJ's long-running figure is that around **80 per cent of journalist murders since 1992 remain unsolved**. Impunity is not what happens after the killing. It is the reason the next one is cheap. If the expected cost of murdering a journalist is nothing, the deterrent is nothing, and the calculation for whoever is considering it is straightforward. Jodie Ginsberg, CPJ's chief executive, framed the year plainly: journalists are being killed in record numbers at a time when access to information is more important than ever. ## Questions people ask ### How many journalists were killed in 2025? 129 journalists and media workers, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists — the highest annual total since CPJ began documenting these deaths in 1992, and the second consecutive record year. ### Who was responsible for most journalist deaths in 2025? CPJ attributes about two-thirds of the 2025 deaths to the Israeli military, with the majority of those killed being Palestinian journalists reporting from Gaza. ### How many of the 2025 killings were deliberate? CPJ classified 47 of the deaths as murder — its category for journalists deliberately targeted in reprisal for their work. CPJ states that no one has been held accountable in those cases. ### How does CPJ verify these figures? CPJ requires confirmation from at least two credible sources and investigates whether each death was work-related, including through interviews with colleagues, family members and supervisors. Deaths it cannot confirm as work-related are recorded separately rather than counted. ## Sources - Record 129 press members killed in 2025; Israel responsible for 2 of 3 of deaths — Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 25 February 2026. https://cpj.org/special-reports/record-129-press-members-killed-in-2025-israel-responsible-for-2-of-3-of-deaths/ - Record number of journalists killed in 2025; Israel responsible for two-thirds of deaths — Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), 25 February 2026. https://cpj.org/2026/02/record-number-of-journalists-killed-in-2025-israel-responsible-for-two-thirds-of-deaths/ - A Record 129 Journalists Killed in 2025, Israel Responsible for 2/3 of the Deaths: CPJ — Democracy Now!, 26 February 2026. https://www.democracynow.org/2026/2/26/cpj_record_press_killings_2025_report --- Published by VOTVS. Free to quote with attribution and a link to https://votvs.com/en/articles/record-year-for-killing-journalists.