This article intends to rectify three popular beliefs related to press
freedom: (1) that the idea of a free marketplace of ideas with a
self-righting truth belongs to original liberalism, (2) that UNESCO’s
primary mission is to promote freedom of information, and (3)
that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides legal
safeguards for the media. These beliefs are shown, on the basis
of the legacy of liberalism and documents of the international
community, to be misleading myths. Instead of accurate readings
of the idea of freedom, they serve as ideological positions which
are harmful to democracy. The Millennium Declaration provides
further proof that the international community has a much more
balanced view of freedom of information than that typically held
by media professionals. Therefore it is important to liberate the
concept of press freedom from its ideological baggage.
