World Press Freedom Day 2025

This event has passed, but AIUSA members can view the recording HERE. Not a member? Join us!

Across the globe, journalists face mounting threats as authoritarian tactics intensify, aiming to silence dissent and suppress press freedom. Whether exposing attacks on peaceful protesters, reporting on climate change, or covering other human rights issues, journalists risk harassment, imprisonment, and violence simply for doing their jobs. This panel explored the growing trend of government censorship and repression, drawing connections between global human rights struggles and emerging challenges in the United States.

We were joined by three amazing panelists:

José Carlos Zamora is Communications Advisor for el_Archivo_media, an organization dedicated to preserving the legacy of independent journalism in Central America. Prior to that, he was the chief of communications and impact officer at Exile Content Studio. Additionally, José Carlos Zamora is the son of Journalist José Rubén Zamora. José Rubén Zamora is the founder of El Periódico has spent over 800 days unjustly jailed for reporting on government corruption. Zamora received a law degree from Universidad Francisco Marroquín, as well as a degree in media law from Georgetown, and an MPA from the University of Texas at Austin. Zamora was also recently a fellow in journalism and media innovation at Stanford University from 2019 to 2020.

Clayton Weimers is the Executive Director of RSF USA, the North American branch of Reporters Without Borders (RSF). He oversees an office which monitors press freedom across English-speaking North America and advances RSF’s global priorities to advocate for journalist safety and everyone’s right to information. His writing on press freedom has appeared in publications including the Washington Post, Newsweek, The Hill, and the Independent. He originally joined RSF USA as its Deputy Director for Advocacy after a career in political campaigns. He holds an AM in International Relations from the University of Chicago and a BA from Pitzer College.

Loghman Fattahi joined the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) as the U.S. advocacy manager in January 2023. Based in Washington, D.C., Fattahi leads CPJ’s advocacy efforts with the U.S. government to shape press freedom policies, legislation, and initiatives, and collaborates with other stakeholders and allies in D.C. to advance press freedom and journalist safety globally. Prior to joining CPJ, he worked as a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State for nearly a decade. Fattahi’s assignments included the U.S. embassies in Cairo, Paris, and Baghdad, as well as the Office of Iranian Affairs. He also worked as an advocacy advisor at SEED Foundation in Iraq, advancing the organization’s goals on a range of human rights issues. Fattahi holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy degree from Tufts University’s Fletcher School. He speaks fluent Kurdish and Persian (Farsi) and is proficient in Arabic and French.