Amnesty Media Awards 2026: Winners Announced

The winners of Amnesty International UK’s prestigious Media Awards 2026 were announced earlier this month at a ceremony held at the BFI Southbank in London, hosted by comedian, actor, writer and activist, Jen Brister.

The annual Media Awards, which are now in their 34th year, highlight excellence in human rights journalism, as well as the bravery of journalists who risk their lives to uncover human rights abuses around the world and hold power to account. Staggeringly, 2025 marked the deadliest year for journalism with a record 129 journalists and media workers killed worldwide, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The 11 categories commended the most outstanding human rights journalism of the last year. The BBC’s Surviving Syria’s Prisons won best Broadcast Feature; Basement Films Channel 4’s Gaza: Doctors Under Attack took home best Broadcast Investigation; Channel 4 News How a Palestinian Farmer Was Shot Defending His Home received the Broadcast News award and The Sunday Times’ Syria Returns To Bloodshed: ‘I’m a mother who saw her sons killed’ won the award for best Written News. Al Jazeera’s Caolán Magee won The Gaby Rado Award for New Journalist.

Most categories were judged by a panel of prestigious journalists and media workers, that included Ayshah Tull, Lindsey Hilsum, Fergal Keane and Alex Crawford. For The People’s Human Rights Champion, over thirteen thousand people across the UK voted for a prominent public figure they felt powerfully uses their platform and voice to engage the public and consistently champion human rights.

This award was given to actor and writer Abigail Thorn, whose educational web show Philosophy Tube combines philosophy and education as a tool for activism. With a global audience of 1.6 million, Abigail uses her platform to advocate for NHS reform, to provide trans people with equal access to healthcare, justice, and protection from conversion therapy. (For the full list see below).

The awards are open to all media outlets based in the UK. All entries were published or broadcast for the first time in the UK between 1 January and 31 December 2025.

Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said:

“At a moment when power is testing the limits of the law and authoritarianism is advancing deeper into our lives, journalists are not observers but essential defenders. They hold the line between truth and impunity – casting light where laws are twisted, voices are criminalised, and peaceful protest is met with handcuffs rather than accountability.

Now in their 34th year, the Amnesty Media Awards exist because this work is not a luxury but a frontline defence against the abuse of power, recognising the excellence, courage and persistence of human rights journalism that exposes complicity and demands accountability, often at immense personal risk. The urgency could not be clearer: 2025 was the deadliest year on record for journalism, with 129 journalists and media workers killed worldwide. In honouring this work, the Awards do more than celebrate journalism – they confront impunity, defend truth, and stand with those who risk everything to ensure injustice cannot be buried in silence.”

Images from the ceremony available upon request: media@amnesty.org.uk

FULL LIST OF WINNERS

Broadcast Feature

BBC: Surviving Syria’s Prisons

Broadcast Investigation

Basement Films for Channel 4: Gaza: Doctors under attack

Broadcast News

Channel 4 News: How a Palestinian Farmer Was Shot Defending His Home

The Gaby Rado Award for New Journalist

Caolán Magee: Al Jazeera

Nations and Regions thanks to Postcode Lottery players

BBC Scotland: Disclosure: Kids on the Psychiatric Ward