; Whereas the 2022 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders, expresses concerns about an increase in polarization amplified by information chaos, and notes that within democratic societies, divisions are growing due to the spread of opinion media and disinformation amplified by social media, while at the international level, democracies are being weakened by the asymmetry between open societies and despotic regimes that control media and online platforms while waging propaganda wars; Whereas attempts to silence the media continue to multiply around the globe, with traditional methods of censorship, violence, and harassment being accompanied by increasingly pervasive digital surveillance, intimidation, and attacks; Whereas the Committee to Protect Journalists reports that journalists and media outlets around the world have been targeted by sophisticated spyware products that pose a severe risk to their safety and the safety of their sources; Whereas Freedom House reports that journalists and others exercising their freedom of expression continue to be victims of transnational repression, tactics used by governments beyond their borders to silence dissent among diasporas and exiles, including assassinations, unlawful deportations, detentions, renditions, physical and digital threats, harassment, and coercion by proxy, and journalists have been the victims in 11 percent of incidents of physical transnational repression identified by Freedom House since 2014; Whereas, according to Freedom House’s Freedom on the Net 2022 report, people in 53 countries faced arrest or imprisonment for expressing themselves online, including— (1) online journalists targeted for their reporting; (2) 40 countries blocking websites featuring political, social, or religious outlets, including many news outlets, an all-time high since 2011; and (3) in 40 countries journalists, bloggers, human rights activists, and others experienced physical violence in retaliation for expressing themselves online