Dicen que una prensa libre ayuda a que todas las personas, sin importar a quién amen, puedan vivir con más respeto.

They say that a free press helps all people, no matter whom they love, to live with more respect.

Breakdown of Dicen que una prensa libre ayuda a que todas las personas, sin importar a quién amen, puedan vivir con más respeto.

• con: with
• ellos: they
• más: more
• que: that

Questions & Answers about Dicen que una prensa libre ayuda a que todas las personas, sin importar a quién amen, puedan vivir con más respeto.

In Dicen que, who is the subject of dicen? Why is there no explicit subject like ellos?

In Dicen que, the subject is an unspecified “they”. Spanish often uses the 3rd person plural without saying who they are, to mean “people” in general.

So:

• Dicen que… ≈ “They say that…” / “People say that…”
• The subject (ellos, “they”) is understood but omitted, which is very natural in Spanish.
• It’s a common way to introduce a general opinion, rumor, or widely held belief.

You could also say La gente dice que… (“People say that…”) but Dicen que… is shorter and very idiomatic.

Could I say Se dice que instead of Dicen que? Is there any difference?

Yes, you could say:

• Dicen que una prensa libre…
• Se dice que una prensa libre…

Both mean roughly “It is said that a free press…” or “People say that a free press…”

Differences in nuance:

• Dicen que…

  • Slightly more informal / conversational.
  • Feels like “they say that…”, maybe echoing what people are saying around you.

• Se dice que…

  • More impersonal and often more formal or “written”.
  • Feels like “it is said that…”, like a general, somewhat objective statement.

Grammatically, both are correct here.