RSF reimagines safety cards for press freedom

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and creative agency The Good Company have launched a campaign marking the release of the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, using redesigned airline safety cards to highlight the risks journalists face in different countries.

The initiative arrives as the index, published recently, signals growing global concern over press freedom, with journalists in several regions facing escalating pressure, detention, abduction, and other forms of threat. RSF describes the index as a key indicator of the conditions confronting media professionals worldwide.

Airline safety format highlights press risks

The campaign repurposes the familiar airline safety instruction format, placing it within a fictional setting called Reporters Airlines. Instead of passenger guidance, the safety cards outline the specific risks journalists may encounter depending on their destination.

The concept uses well-known travel imagery to contrast the perception of global mobility with the realities faced by journalists working under restrictive or dangerous conditions.

Creative approach aims to make risks visible

Hadi Hassan Helou, creative director at The Good Company: "There are some issues where communication isn’t enough—you have to take a stand. Press freedom is one of them. What journalists experience in many countries is unbearable and too often invisible. Reporters Airlines is our way of making that reality impossible to ignore."

The campaign is designed to translate statistical findings from the World Press Freedom Index into more immediate, visual narratives by associating destinations with specific press freedom conditions.

Focus on awareness and public engagement

Thibaut Bruttin, director general of RSF: "The Good Company delivered a campaign that uses humor to highlight the serious decline in journalists’ safety in recent years. It is a warning to the public—both as citizens concerned about threats to journalism and as travelers visiting destinations where press freedom isn’t guaranteed."

The campaign features three films set around Vietnam, Mexico, and Tanzania, with safety instructions delivered by flight attendant-style narrators adapted to each location.

Multi-channel rollout across public spaces and digital platforms

The work will appear across digital out-of-home placements in French train stations, print media, metro environments, radio, and audio adaptations of the safety messages. Digital activations include Meta platforms and BeReal, along with illustrated safety cards presented as part of a fictional airline rollout.

A teaser phase on social media introduces the Reporters Airlines concept, gradually building the campaign’s narrative before the full rollout.

www.rsf.org

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