Esteem men and women of the press,
As you commemorate this year’s World Press Freedom Day, today 3rd May 2025 under the theme “Reporting in the Brave New World: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Media”, it is important to examine AI’s impact on press freedom, exploring how it affects the free flow of information, media freedom, and the achievement of SDG 16.10 as well as the August 1996 law on environmental management in Cameroon to ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms.
The Foundation for Environment and Development appreciates all environmental journalists in Cameroon who have been diligent in reporting all environmental concerns nationally and internationally. FEDEV wishes to draw your attention to the fact that AI is revolutionizing environmental reporting by automating data collection, analysis, and reporting, enhancing real-time monitoring, and improving data integrity. This allows for more efficient and accurate tracking of environmental performance, facilitates better risk management, and ultimately helps organizations make more informed decisions about their environmental impact. However, it’s crucial to balance the benefits of AI with the potential for green washing and to ensure that AI-generated reports are critically assessed and transparent.
AI equally poses risk in misinformation and disinformation, huge data management, deep fake technology, biased content moderation, and surveillance threats to environmental journalists. FEDEV, as a civil society organization promoting environmental justice, therefore urges you to respect all media and access to environmental information laws in Cameroon including the 19 December 1990 law relating to freedom of mass communication, the 1996 environmental management law and the 1996 constitution.
The Executive Director