In this episode of DevelopmentAid Dialogues, podcast host Hisham Allam spoke with Lotfullah Najafizada, an Afghan journalist and founder of Amu TV, a Washington-based international news outlet reaching audiences inside and outside Afghanistan.
With nearly 20 years on Afghan media frontlines—including over a decade as Tolo News director and multiple Press Freedom Awards— he joined us ahead of the Ottawa Civic Space Summit, a global platform to resist repression and reimagine inclusive democracy, where Lotfullah will be a speaker within the panel entitled: Reclaim the Public Square: Media Freedom, Journalism and Civic Space.
Download the transcript of this episode.
“The public square, where the public should have its say, is eroding,” Najafizada said, citing Democracy Without Borders’ count of 91 or 92 autocracies versus 85 or 87 democracies—a recession hitting discourse hardest. State actors erode trust fastest through systematic censorship, as in Taliban Afghanistan, where the region’s freest media became most closed. “Censorship is killing trust,” he told DevelopmentAid Dialogues, with even democracies pressuring media per Reporters Without Borders’ reddening index.
U.S. media shows resilience against Trump’s post-2025 attacks on CNN and NYT, but polarization creates silos: “You can easily live in one world and be very distant from the other.” Journalists face constraints—hundreds arrested by the Taliban, rising legal woes—making them civic space’s last defense. “We are working very hard for our own survival,” he said, urging alliances to protect reporters.
Governments pledge free expression yet pass surveillance laws without follow-through, as Canada’s G7 transnational repression nod. Newsrooms must get creative despite cuts: Amu TV’s WhatsApp call-in draws 6,000 Afghan callers hourly, bypassing the Taliban firewalls that ban women interviewing men, while being uncovered. “That makes blanket censorship impossible,” Najafizada said.
For 2026 survival, he ranks independent funding first—”if you don’t survive, how can you do your job?”—then legal shields, tech tools like Citizen Lab, and platform accountability. Social media lacks editorial oversight; push digital literacy against AI floods and X algorithms. A healthy civic space lets reporters probe without fear and citizens criticize sans punishment—rights which are currently under global attack.
The Ottawa Summit must yield action, alliances, and cross-border empathy: “You can’t limit it to one geography.” Economic censorship, like Rwanda’s tax hikes or India’s registry, buries restrictions in administrative barriers—even Afghan YouTubers need paid, aligned licenses. Priority: protect the raw right to disagree, building shared trust. “No one should take democracy for granted,” he said.
This podcast episode is part of a collaboration between DevelopmentAid, Resilient Societies, and Cooperation Canada around the Ottawa Civic Space Summit, a new global platform to resist repression, reclaim civic power, and reimagine a more inclusive democratic future. The Summit will take place in Ottawa, Canada, from April 21 to 23, 2026. This bold gathering will bring together civil society leaders, civic space activists, governments, donors, media, academics, and private sector allies to ignite hope and drive change. For registration, follow this link.
