“Problematic”: it is the situation of freedom of information in Italy according to the 2025 index of Reporters Sans Frontières, widespread as every year in recent days, on the occasion of the International Day of Freedom of Information. According to Index 2025, Italy passes from 46. At 49. Placewith a result deemed the worst of the western countries due to – as stated in the card released by the NGO – of the incidence on those who work in the field of journalism of criminal pressure, but also of “Bavaglio laws” and “Slapp” (legal actions aimed at blocking public participation).
International day and the annual focus
The anniversary was established for the day of May 3 by the UN to reiterate how free information is a pillar of democracy, and to invite the governments and the world of journalism to the reflection. And just to contribute to the debate, also South Gazzetta Del Southern Journal of Sicily and University of Messina Publishing Company They promote a deepening annually, intended in particular to young people through the GDS Academy, which in the sixth 2025 edition will be declined with particular attention to international dynamics, speaking of the freedom of the press “in the era of post-political, between hypnocracy and disappointment”. The previous five editions have been dedicated to insights on the right to oblivion, on publishing between ethics and business, on the protection of minors in the news, on the incidence of the AI, and, last year, on the right of news and confidentiality.
The program of the event of 9 May
The event, live on the Unime YouTube channel, will open tomorrow 9 May at 10.30 with the greetings of the rector Giovanna Spatari, the president of Ses Lino Morgante and the president of the Alumnime Francesco Rende Association. The director responsible for the Gazzetta del Sud Nino Rizzo Nervo will introduce the theme of the conference, the interventions of the publishing of Antonio Di Bella, of the unime of sociology of communication Marco Centorrino and the doctor of research in law Erika La Fauci will follow. The president of the Order of Journalists of Sicily will conclude the works Concept Mannisi. The initiative is part of the Unime Gds Lab, the journalism laboratory promoted by University and SES, with the participation in the Aula Magna of UNIME students and students and of the schools participating in the “Gazzetta del Sud in class with us magazine” project.
From Trump to EU’s America
Readers on, therefore, on scenarios ranging from Trump to EU’s America, whose Member States in August will have to implement the Media Freedom Act, the new European legislation that aims to protect media from political or economic interference. The element, the latter, which precisely in the report emerges as a limiting factor of the freedom of information, making the global situation “very difficult”. The interventions scheduled for tomorrow in the Enteanian classroom will bring out how the events of the last few months, in particular, are updating the picture of the risks related to information that is not really free. For several years now, in fact, we see how fake news, that is, false and misleading information proposed as truthful, create false convictions.
Disintermediation and post-truth
All this, favored by a process of disappointment, a mechanism in which the subjects to whom the control and management of news was historically entrusted – the professional mass media and, specifically, the journalistic editorial offices – are climbed over thanks to the use of channels, social media, which allow anyone to reach a vast public, without the contents being subjected to any control or ethical rule. The most immediate consequence is the creation of a post-truth, that is, a truth that goes beyond reality, and relativizes its concept itself: it is true not what happens, but what is believed or makes itself believe has happened. The evolution determined by the advent of generative artificial intelligence is worrying which allows to further dilute the boundaries between the truth, the likely and the false.
The IA and the manipulation of the perception of the world
What is happening in particular in the United States is indicative: alongside a manipulation of information, a manipulation of the perception of the world is being affirmed. What is transformed, therefore, is not reality, but our relationship with it. It is a phenomenon known with the term “hypnocracy”. Images and content so perfect that we induce us to give up the exercise of doubt (in essence, to ask us the question: is it true or false?). In a society where information flows are overabundant, the real danger thus becomes no credit, but that generalized skepticism with respect to the search for truth.
Executive orders and constitutional freedoms
At the center of the comparison, the incidence that the Trump presidency has on the freedom of the press and expression in the USA. It will be discussed with reference to current affairs, language, the relationship of power with the media and also with the cultural and academic world. But the US constitutional model will also be reconstructed by paying attention to the presidential powers and the importance taken by the Freedom of Speech in the American fundamental card. We will also focus on some Executive Orders approved by Trump in the field of freedom of expression and the incidence will be highlighted that the adoption of such measures could have respect for the freedom of manifestation of thought within the US system.
Unime Gsd Lab and the full immersion in Gionalism
The event is included in the activities of Unime Gds Lab, the journalistic technique laboratory promoted by the University and SES with the participation of students and students of all the degree courses interested in the strengthening of the skills in terms of communication. The lab has now reached its fourth edition as part of a synergy that allows young people enrolled in the University to make use of the experience and professionalism that are part of the editorial company, promoting a consolidated activity for young people with the GDS Academy and the insert we magazine, following the performance on the field of the journalistic profession and enhancing the interest in the current entry and information.