A Love Letter to Journalists Who Refuse to Let the Truth Disappear

I've been thinking a lot lately about the people who dedicate their lives to making sure the rest of us know what's happening in the world, especially those who continue doing their jobs despite being threatened, harassed, publicly humiliated, or accused of being enemies of the people simply because they dare to ask uncomfortable questions. I'm talking about journalists, particularly investigative journalists, who I believe deserve far more appreciation, respect, and recognition than they receive, especially in a world where spreading a conspiracy theory can make someone famous overnight, while spending months investigating the truth can make someone a target.

I wanted to write this appreciation letter because I genuinely admire people who are intellectually curious, who care about facts, who understand the importance of evidence, and who refuse to accept whatever powerful individuals tell them without questioning it. Those qualities have always been important to me, but watching the growing hostility toward journalism, science, education, and expertise has made me appreciate them even more.

We live in a strange time when someone can spend years studying a subject, investigating evidence, interviewing experts, checking documents, and verifying information, only to be dismissed by a person who watched a fifteen-minute conspiracy video on social media and now believes they have discovered a truth that everyone else is supposedly too stupid or too brainwashed to understand.

What worries me isn't simply that misinformation exists, because propaganda, manipulation, and lies have existed throughout human history, but that we have reached a point where being suspicious of established knowledge is often treated as a sign of intelligence, while actually understanding how knowledge is produced seems to have become optional. This is precisely why I believe good journalism is one of the most valuable things we have in a democratic society.

Journalism Is So Much More Than Reporting the News

I think many people underestimate how much work goes into responsible journalism because we usually encounter only the finished product, whether that's an article we read over breakfast, an investigation that appears on television, or a report that explains a political scandal we've been hearing about for weeks. What we don't necessarily see are the hours spent researching, the documents that need to be examined, the sources who must be protected, the information that needs to be independently verified, and the difficult decisions journalists make when publishing something could expose them or another person to serious danger.

Good journalism requires patience, intellectual discipline, curiosity, skepticism, and an understanding that what someone wants to be true isn't necessarily what the evidence supports. Investigative journalism takes this responsibility even further because its purpose is often to uncover information that powerful people would prefer to keep hidden, whether that involves political corruption, corporate misconduct, human rights violations, environmental destruction, or the abuse of vulnerable people.

I have enormous respect for anyone willing to spend months, or even years, following a story without knowing whether their investigation will lead to anything, particularly when the people they're investigating have far more money, influence, and resources than they do. Imagine dedicating so much of your professional life to uncovering wrongdoing, knowing that the eventual result could be threats, lawsuits, harassment, or losing your livelihood, while the people responsible for the wrongdoing might have entire teams working to discredit you.

That requires a kind of courage that I don't think receives nearly enough recognition. Of course, journalists aren't perfect, and neither are the organizations they work for. Media outlets can make mistakes, publish misleading headlines, prioritize sensationalism, or allow commercial and political interests to influence their editorial decisions, which is precisely why media criticism and accountability are necessary.

But criticizing journalism because it fails to meet professional standards is very different from attacking the entire profession because journalists have uncovered something politically inconvenient. I don't believe we should blindly trust every newspaper or television channel, just as I don't believe we should blindly trust politicians, scientists, doctors, or anyone else simply because they hold a particular title.

What I do believe is that we should value professional standards, evidence, transparency, corrections, and accountability, because those are the things that allow us to distinguish responsible journalism from someone simply expressing an opinion on the internet.

When Conspiracy Theories Become More Popular Than Facts

One of the things that genuinely frightens me about our current information environment is how easily people can become convinced that everyone who disagrees with them must be lying, corrupt, manipulated, or secretly participating in some enormous conspiracy. Instead of asking whether a claim is supported by credible evidence, people increasingly seem to ask whether it confirms what they already believe, and social media algorithms certainly haven't made this problem any easier.

According to the Reuters Institute's 2025 Digital News Report, which examined news consumption across 48 markets, 58% of respondents expressed concern about their ability to distinguish true information from false information online. The same research found that people considered online influencers and national politicians among the biggest potential sources of false or misleading information, which should tell us something about the dangers of treating popularity, political authority, or a large social media following as proof of credibility.

I find it disturbing when people automatically dismiss professional journalism as propaganda while enthusiastically accepting information from influencers who have no obligation to verify their claims, disclose their sources, or correct their mistakes. A journalist might spend weeks examining public records, consulting specialists, and independently confirming a story, while an influencer can sit in front of a camera, confidently announce that everything we've been told is a lie, and receive thousands of comments praising them for being brave enough to speak the truth.

Confidence isn't evidence, popularity isn't expertise, and questioning established information doesn't automatically make someone a critical thinker. Real critical thinking also requires questioning our own assumptions, considering information that makes us uncomfortable, and accepting that we might be wrong. I wish more people understood that skepticism is supposed to help us evaluate evidence rather than provide an excuse to reject anything we don't like.

Conspiracy theories can be attractive because they offer simple explanations for complicated problems, often presenting the world as a battle between enlightened individuals who supposedly know the truth and everyone else who has been deceived. Responsible journalism rarely offers that kind of emotional satisfaction because reality is complicated, evidence can be incomplete, and the truth doesn't always fit neatly into the political or ideological narrative we would prefer.

A responsible journalist might tell us that an investigation is ongoing, that certain claims haven't been verified, or that the available evidence doesn't support a particular conclusion, while a conspiracy theorist can confidently promise to explain everything in a single video. Unfortunately, certainty often sells better than intellectual humility. I don't think every person who believes misinformation is unintelligent or malicious, because people can be misled for many reasons, including fear, confusion, distrust, and a genuine desire to understand what's happening around them.

But I do believe we have a responsibility to examine the information we consume, particularly when we're sharing accusations that could damage someone's reputation, undermine public health, or encourage hostility toward entire groups of people. The solution isn't to stop questioning authority. Quite the opposite. We need to become better at questioning authority, including the self-appointed authorities who build their careers by convincing people that everyone else is lying.

Politicians Should Fear Difficult Questions, Not Journalists

One of the most important functions of journalism is holding politicians accountable, and I genuinely cannot imagine a healthy democracy in which elected officials are allowed to make decisions affecting millions of people without anyone independently examining what they're doing. Politicians are public servants, not royalty, celebrities who deserve unconditional admiration, or authority figures whose statements should be accepted without scrutiny.

They make decisions about healthcare, education, reproductive rights, environmental protection, public spending, international relations, and countless other issues that directly influence our lives. As women, we should be particularly interested in whether those decisions protect our rights and freedoms, because history has repeatedly demonstrated how easily women's interests can be ignored when political power operates without sufficient scrutiny.

When politicians attempt to restrict reproductive healthcare, weaken protections against discrimination, undermine democratic institutions, or introduce policies that disproportionately affect vulnerable people, journalists have a responsibility to investigate those decisions and explain their consequences. I want journalists asking politicians uncomfortable questions about their promises, their financial interests, their relationships with wealthy donors, their use of public money, and the inconsistencies between what they say and what they actually do.

I want them examining legislation rather than simply repeating political slogans, investigating allegations of corruption rather than accepting official denials, and explaining complicated policies in ways that ordinary people can understand. Most importantly, I want them to continue asking questions even when politicians become irritated, aggressive, or dismissive.

A politician who becomes angry because a journalist asks a legitimate question isn't demonstrating strength, and attacking the person asking the question doesn't make the question disappear. I've always found it deeply concerning when political leaders attempt to convince their supporters that journalists are enemies simply because they publish unfavorable information. Donald Trump's repeated attacks on the press, including his use of the expression "fake news" to discredit unfavorable coverage, are a recognizable example of this kind of political rhetoric.

The problem with such rhetoric extends far beyond any individual politician because it encourages people to treat journalism as an opposing political force rather than an institution whose responsibility includes scrutinizing those who hold power. Of course, political bias in journalism deserves criticism, and media organizations should be transparent about their editorial standards and conflicts of interest, but politicians don't get to decide that information is false simply because it makes them look bad.

I also believe this scrutiny should apply regardless of political affiliation. Supporting a particular political party shouldn't mean excusing its corruption, dishonesty, or abuse of power, and being critical of a politician we dislike shouldn't prevent us from acknowledging when accusations against them are unsupported.

If we only want journalists to investigate politicians we disagree with, what we're asking for isn't independent journalism but political validation. A functioning democracy requires something much more demanding. It requires journalists who are willing to disappoint everyone when the evidence leads them somewhere inconvenient.

Investigative Journalism Can Actually Change the World

Whenever someone dismisses journalism as useless or claims that investigative reporting never accomplishes anything, I think about the Panama Papers. In 2016, hundreds of journalists from around the world collaborated to investigate millions of leaked documents exposing the use of offshore financial structures by wealthy individuals, companies, and politically connected figures.

The investigation involved the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and media partners across numerous countries, demonstrating what can happen when journalists cooperate across borders instead of allowing powerful individuals to hide behind them. The revelations triggered public investigations, political consequences, legal reforms, and efforts to recover unpaid taxes.

According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, by April 2025, governments had recovered approximately $1.3 billion in taxes and penalties following investigations connected to the Panama Papers. Think about that for a moment.

Journalists examining documents, following financial transactions, and refusing to abandon a complicated investigation helped expose practices that resulted in governments recovering an extraordinary amount of money. That's money that can potentially support public services, healthcare, education, and other things that ordinary people depend on.

The Panama Papers also demonstrated something else that I find important, which is that investigative journalism can reveal how political and economic power operates beyond the carefully constructed public images of influential individuals. Corruption and financial secrecy aren't always obvious, and people who benefit from them often have access to sophisticated legal, financial, and public relations resources. Without journalists willing to investigate those systems, many of us would never even know what questions to ask.

I think about all the scandals that might never have become public without investigative reporting, all the victims whose experiences might have remained ignored, and all the powerful individuals who might have continued operating without meaningful scrutiny. Investigative journalists don't have the authority to prosecute criminals or change legislation themselves, but they can uncover evidence, inform the public, and create the conditions in which institutions are pressured to act.

Not every investigation produces justice, and exposing wrongdoing doesn't guarantee that those responsible will face consequences. But without exposure, accountability can become even less likely.

The Terrifying Price Journalists Pay for Telling the Truth

The most heartbreaking aspect of journalism is that people are still being killed for doing their jobs. I don't mean that metaphorically. Journalists are murdered, imprisoned, threatened, assaulted, and forced into exile because their reporting threatens governments, criminal organizations, armed groups, or other powerful interests. 

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 129 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025, the highest annual figure the organization had documented since it began collecting this information more than three decades earlier.

The organization reported that at least 104 of those deaths occurred in conflict settings, with Palestinian journalists accounting for a particularly devastating share of the losses. Its investigation attributed approximately two-thirds of the 2025 press killings to Israel.

These figures are horrifying, and I think we should remember that behind every number is an actual human being with a life that extended far beyond their profession. Someone who had people they loved, ordinary routines, personal interests, hopes for the future, and perhaps a family waiting for them to come home.

Someone who went to work to document what was happening and never returned. Journalists covering wars perform an extraordinarily important public service because they document suffering, destruction, displacement, and the human consequences of political and military decisions that might otherwise remain hidden from the outside world.

Without their reporting, governments and armed groups would have far greater opportunities to control the narrative surrounding their actions. I find it especially devastating to think about journalists reporting from places where they themselves are experiencing the violence, grief, and uncertainty they're documenting. They aren't simply detached observers watching events unfold from a safe distance. Many are reporting on the destruction of their own communities while worrying about the safety of their loved ones.

Their work deserves recognition, and their lives deserve protection. But journalists don't need to work in war zones to face serious danger. Investigating organized crime, government corruption, environmental destruction, or powerful business interests can also expose reporters to threats and violence. Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese investigative journalist exposed corruption and wrongdoing and was murdered by a car bomb in October 2017.

Her death remains a devastating reminder that exposing powerful interests can carry consequences that no journalist should ever have to face. A person should never have to risk being murdered because they investigated corruption. A journalist should never have to wonder whether publishing an article will endanger their children. No one should have to choose between doing their job and staying alive. Yet this is the reality that far too many journalists continue to face.

When We Turn Journalists Into Enemies, We All Lose

One of the most dangerous developments I've noticed is the growing tendency to portray journalists as inherently dishonest, malicious, or deserving of hostility. The term "legacy media" is increasingly used as an insult, as though working for an established news organization automatically makes someone less credible than an independent content creator.

I don't think a media organization's age or size determines whether its reporting is trustworthy, and independent journalists can absolutely produce outstanding investigations. But I find it absurd to suggest that established journalism should be dismissed simply because it operates through professional institutions.

Experienced editors, fact-checkers, investigative teams, legal reviews, and established correction procedures aren't guarantees of perfect reporting, but they can provide important safeguards against misinformation. A person with a podcast might produce excellent journalism, while a major newspaper might publish something misleading, which is why we should evaluate the quality of the work rather than blindly worship or reject a particular format.

The real issue is whether someone is committed to finding and communicating verifiable information. I also think we need to talk about what happens when politicians and influential public figures repeatedly encourage their followers to hate journalists. Words have consequences, particularly when they're spoken by people with enormous audiences and political influence.

When journalists are constantly described as corrupt enemies who are deliberately destroying society, it becomes easier for some people to justify harassing or threatening them. This doesn't mean every person who criticizes the media is responsible for violence, but political leaders should understand the responsibility that comes with their platforms. Criticizing inaccurate reporting is legitimate. Encouraging hostility toward an entire profession because its members ask difficult questions is something very different.

UNESCO's 2026 reporting on global media freedom highlights how serious the situation has become, documenting a decline in freedom of expression alongside growing pressure on independent media. According to UNESCO, its global freedom of expression index declined by 10% between 2012 and 2025, while self-censorship among media professionals reached 63%. I find that second figure especially disturbing because censorship doesn't always require a government to formally prohibit an article.

Fear itself can become a form of censorship. When journalists begin avoiding certain subjects because they're afraid of harassment, retaliation, or violence, the public loses access to information that might be essential to understanding what's happening in their country. A society doesn't need to imprison every journalist to undermine press freedom. Making journalists afraid to do their jobs can already cause enormous damage.

Why Women Should Care About Independent Journalism

As a woman and a feminist, I see independent journalism as something deeply connected to the protection of women's rights. Journalists have played an important role in exposing sexual harassment, domestic abuse, discrimination, exploitation, institutional failures, and the ways powerful people have used their positions to silence victims.

The reporting that helped bring the Harvey Weinstein scandal into public view is one example of how investigative journalism can challenge systems that have protected influential men while dismissing or intimidating women who spoke about their experiences. The work of journalists such as Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey, and Ronan Farrow helped expose allegations that had remained hidden or insufficiently addressed for years, contributing to a much broader public reckoning about sexual misconduct and abuses of power.

I think about how many women have spent their lives being told that nobody would believe them, that speaking publicly would destroy their careers, or that challenging an influential man would only make their situation worse. Investigative journalism can give those experiences public attention, examine evidence, identify institutional failures, and help ensure that allegations aren't dismissed simply because the accused person is wealthy, famous, or politically connected.

Of course, responsible reporting must also respect due process, verify allegations, and avoid treating accusations as established facts without sufficient evidence. Protecting victims and respecting factual accuracy aren't opposing goals. In fact, rigorous journalism can help protect the credibility of serious allegations by ensuring that published findings are supported by careful investigation. I also have enormous admiration for female journalists who work in environments where misogyny adds another layer of hostility to an already demanding profession.

Women in journalism can face sexualized threats, harassment targeting their appearance, sexist insults, and attempts to undermine their professional credibility simply because they're women. The idea that a woman should expect abuse because she has chosen a public-facing profession is something I will never accept. No woman should have to tolerate threats of sexual violence because she asked a politician a difficult question or published an investigation.

As women, we benefit from having journalists who investigate how laws, political decisions, and institutional practices affect our lives, particularly when those in power would prefer that certain consequences remain unnoticed. Women's rights have never been protected simply by assuming that powerful institutions will always do the right thing. They require public scrutiny, informed citizens, and people willing to challenge injustice.

Supporting Journalism Means Supporting Our Own Right to Know

I know that many people feel exhausted by the news. I understand why, because following world events can be emotionally overwhelming, particularly when so much reporting involves wars, political extremism, violence, discrimination, and human suffering. The Reuters Institute's 2025 research found that 40% of respondents across the markets surveyed said they often or occasionally avoided the news, reflecting how difficult the modern information environment has become for many people.

I don't believe anyone needs to spend every waking moment consuming upsetting information to be a responsible citizen, and protecting our mental well-being is important. But I also believe we should recognize the difference between taking a healthy break from the news and becoming completely indifferent to what happens beyond our immediate lives. Democracy depends on people having access to reliable information, but it also depends on people caring enough to use that information.

We can't meaningfully evaluate politicians, understand public policy, or recognize threats to our rights if we have no idea what's happening around us. One of the simplest ways we can support journalism is by becoming more thoughtful consumers of information. That means reading beyond headlines, checking sources, recognizing the difference between reporting and opinion, being willing to correct our own misunderstandings, and resisting the temptation to share sensational claims before verifying them. It also means recognizing that quality journalism costs money.

Investigative reporting requires resources, and journalists cannot spend months researching complicated stories if news organizations lack the financial support needed to employ them. Whenever possible, subscribing to a credible publication, supporting nonprofit investigative journalism, or contributing to independent reporting can help sustain work that benefits the wider public. Even those of us who cannot afford subscriptions can support responsible journalism by sharing well-researched articles, giving credit to original reporters, and refusing to participate in harassment campaigns against journalists.

I also think we need to become more comfortable with the idea that reliable information won't always make us feel good. An investigation might reveal corruption within a political party we support, misconduct by someone we admire, or evidence that challenges a belief we've held for years. I would much rather experience the discomfort of discovering that I was wrong than live in a world where everyone simply tells me what I want to hear. Being informed isn't supposed to be an exercise in protecting our egos. It's supposed to help us understand reality.

My Appreciation Letter to the People Who Keep Asking Questions

To the journalists who continue doing their work despite everything, I want you to know that your efforts aren't invisible to everyone.

I appreciate the investigative reporters who spend months examining documents because they suspect that someone powerful has something to hide. I appreciate the political journalists who refuse to accept vague answers, who ask follow-up questions when politicians attempt to change the subject, and who understand that their responsibility is to the public rather than to the people occupying positions of authority. I appreciate the journalists who report from conflict zones, who document human suffering, and who continue telling stories that powerful governments or armed groups would prefer the world never hear.

I appreciate the local reporters who attend municipal meetings, examine public spending, investigate problems within their communities, and hold local officials accountable, even when their work doesn't receive national attention. I appreciate the journalists who investigate violence against women, expose institutional failures, challenge discrimination, and give serious attention to people whose experiences have been ignored for far too long.

I appreciate those who admit when they've made a mistake and correct their reporting, because intellectual integrity isn't about pretending to be infallible but about remaining accountable to the truth. Most of all, I appreciate the people who continue believing that facts are worth investigating even when misinformation is more profitable, sensationalism attracts more attention, and telling people what they want to hear would make their lives considerably easier.

I know that journalism is a profession, not a charitable act, and that journalists are human beings with their own opinions, ambitions, flaws, and limitations. I don't expect them to be heroes, and I certainly don't believe they should be beyond criticism. But I do think we should acknowledge the extraordinary public value of a profession whose best work involves questioning power, exposing wrongdoing, and helping ordinary people understand the forces shaping their lives.

In a world increasingly saturated with conspiracy theories, propaganda, political manipulation, and artificial intelligence-generated misinformation, the ability to distinguish credible evidence from persuasive nonsense is becoming more important than ever. We need journalists who investigate rather than speculate, verify rather than assume, and remain curious even when the answers are complicated or uncomfortable.

We need people who understand that truth isn't determined by the number of likes a social media post receives, the popularity of a politician, or the emotional satisfaction of believing we've uncovered some extraordinary secret. We need independent journalism because power without scrutiny is dangerous, because corruption thrives when nobody is watching, and because ordinary people deserve to know what is being done in their name.

I don't want to live in a society where journalists are afraid to ask questions, where politicians decide which information the public is allowed to hear, or where conspiracy influencers become more influential than people who dedicate their lives to investigating facts. I want to live in a society that values education, intellectual curiosity, scientific understanding, compassion, and the freedom to challenge authority.

A society where asking difficult questions is considered a public service rather than an act of disloyalty.

A society where journalists can investigate powerful people without fearing for their lives. So, to every journalist who still believes that the public deserves the truth, even when that truth is inconvenient, unpopular, or dangerous to uncover, thank you.

Thank you for asking the questions that powerful people don't want to answer, for examining the evidence that others would prefer to ignore, and for reminding us that democracy requires more than elections. It requires an informed public, institutions willing to accept scrutiny, and people courageous enough to expose wrongdoing.

The truth doesn't become less important because people have become more comfortable believing lies. Your work is essential, your courage deserves recognition, and your commitment to the public's right to know is something I will always appreciate.

Thankful for your presence, Neja