India witnessed a sharp deterioration in free speech protections in 2025, with journalists among the most targeted groups, according to the Free Speech Collective (FSC) Report, December 2025. The year began with the disappearance and killing of freelance journalist Mukesh Chandrakar in Bastar, setting the tone for a year marked by intimidation, censorship and violence. The FSC documented 14,875 free speech violations, including: - 9 killings (8 journalists and 1 social media influencer) - 117 arrests, including 8 journalists - 11,385 cases of censorship - 208 instances of lawfare (criminal cases filed against individuals) - 3,070 cases of internet control, such as shutdowns, app bans and blocking orders Digital censorship was a major concern, with government requests to withhold thousands of accounts on X. Between January and June 2025, X reported 29,118 removal requests, complying with 26,641. Journalists faced 40 physical attacks, 33 of them targeting reporters in rural ar

Freelance journalist Ezrela Dalidia Fanai, 41, was found dead at her residence in Aizawl on Christmas Day, The Hindu reported. Police said she had been living alone since her mother’s death in July. Fanai was last known to have answered phone calls on the morning of December 24, but did not respond to a local church group that organised a Christmas carol at her premises later that evening. On December 25, when relatives were unable to reach her by phone, they, along with locals, broke into the house and discovered her lying dead on the floor.

The High Commission of Canada, in collaboration with Newsreel Asia and the Chandigarh Press Club, will host a two-day workshop on narrative journalism and human interest storytelling on February 9–10, 2026. Targeted at mid-level and senior journalists, the programme aims to strengthen storytelling skills by placing people and lived experiences at the center of reportage. Sessions will focus on narrative techniques that foster empathy and deeper public engagement. The workshop will be held at the Chandigarh Press Club, Sector 27-B, with around 40 participants selected through a screening process. Journalists with at least three years of professional experience are eligible to apply. Applicants must arrange their own travel and accommodation if coming from outside Chandigarh. The deadline to apply is January 12, 2026, 11 pm IST, with selected participants notified via email Interested journalists can apply here.

Comedy remains a widely consumed format across platforms. Tapping into this space, Red FM has launched The Aditi Mittal Show, a new original programme. Hosted by stand-up comedian and writer Aditi Mittal, the weekend show is airing across 28 cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Chandigarh, and Jammu. The show brings together a mohalla of Aditi’s popular characters, from Aadhe Maa and Munni Mursheed to Non Humans of India and Coach Jagruti, creating a fast-paced, character-driven comedy universe rooted in everyday India. Airing every Saturday from 9 am to 11 am, with a repeat on Sundays, the 13-week series blends satire, sketches, and storytelling, offering a humorous break from the daily grind.

Image source: PC Gamer and MSN; Edited by Dinesh Raj M   Top publishing houses and authors' associations suing AI firms for Copyright violations has become old news by now as we wrap up yet another year of endless debates on AI vs Journalism. However, in what could be the beginning of a new trend with multiple implications, NY Times journalist and author John Carreyrou, along with five other writers, has sued Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, Meta Platforms, Perplexity and xAI alleging that they trained their AI systems on copyrighted works without permission. According to a Reuters report, John and the other writers accused AI companies of pirating their books and feeding them into the large language models (LLMs) that power the companies' chatbots. Though the lawsuit filed at the California federal court is one of several copyright cases brought by authors and other copyright owners against tech companies over the use of their work in AI training. Unlike other pending ca

  Daka—Days after violent attacks on the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star drew global condemnation, another Bangladeshi media house has come under threat, raising fresh concerns over press freedom. On December 21, a group of youths visited the office of Global TV Bangladesh in Dhaka, demanding the removal of its head of news Naznin Munni and warning the channel would face the same fate as the two dailies. While the group claimed links to the Anti‑Discrimination Student Movement, the outfit later distanced itself from the incident. The threat followed unrest triggered by the death of youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi. India Today reported. The Editors’ Guild of India (EGI) strongly condemned the assaults, mob attacks and arso against journalists and media offices in Bangladesh, calling them a grave violation of press freedom in South Asia. In a statement on December 23, the Guild urged Bangladesh's interim government to ensure journalists' safety, punish perpetrato

  The Mooknayak Deputy Editor Ankit Pachauri has been selected for the prestigious Voices Fellowship organised by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune. Held from December 16–20 under IISER’s CARE Project, the five‑day programme brought together around 40 journalists from across India to strengthen science, environment and climate reporting through a data‑driven approach. Sessions covered topics including climate science, data journalism, fact‑checking, visualisation tools, and integrating field reporting with scientific evidence, led by scientists, researchers and senior environmental journalists. The fellowship was mentored by Nidhi Jamwal and Hirdesh Joshi, with Dr Shalini Sharma as programme coordinator. According to The Mooknayak, Pachauri said the training helped him view climate change as not only an environmental crisis but also one linked to social justice, public health, livelihoods and constitutional rights, stressing t