May 3 marks World Press Freedom Day, but this year’s occasion is marred by disheartening news: press freedom around the world is under unprecedented pressure, the worst in a decade.
According to an annual report by the international human rights organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), independent journalism faces virtually insurmountable challenges in 36 countries in 2023. The number of nations where working conditions for press staff are deemed “catastrophic” is on the rise.
The authorities of these countries pose a particular threat to journalists
➤ Press freedom globally is threatened by those who should be its guarantors – the political authorities. RSF drew this conclusion from the fact that among the five indicators used to compile the rankings, the political indicator experienced the most significant global average drop of 7.6 points.
➤ Election campaigns, both before and after election day, present a particular danger to journalists, including physical violence, insults, intimidation, and legal harassment by authorities.
➤ Some political groups foment hatred and distrust towards journalists by insulting, discrediting, and threatening them. Others organize to take control of the media ecosystem, whether through state media under their command or private media through takeovers by allied businessmen.
“Governments are failing to protect journalism. Increasingly, governments and political authorities are failing in their role as guarantors of the best conditions for journalism and the public’s right to credible, independent, and diverse news and information,” stated the report’s authors.
According to RSF editorial director Ann Bokande, “States and other political actors are playing an increasingly diminished role in protecting press freedom.”
Globally, this year has demonstrated a lack of political will on the part of the international community to honor the principles of protecting journalists.
✔ Around the world, press freedom is threatened by the very people who are supposed to be its guarantors – political authorities, the report summarizes.
“The situation has generally worsened in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where press freedom is not guaranteed, and the media are increasingly used as transmission belts in disinformation campaigns,” the report stated.
Top 10 Countries with the Freest Press
The top 10 countries with the freest press were Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, and Germany.
Baltic States and Poland
Poland had the worst result in the Index, ranking 47th. However, there is a positive development: compared to 2022, the situation with press freedom in Poland has improved by 10 points.
In Lithuania, the situation has worsened: it has fallen six positions in the ranking, from 7th to 13th place.
Latvia, on the contrary, improved its position by 2 points, taking 12th place.
Estonia has entered the top 10 countries where the situation with press freedom is assessed as very good, securing 5th place.
Countries with No Independent Media
The last places are occupied by Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea. In these countries, there are no independent media, the authorities have full control over the information space, and journalists are detained in custody awaiting trial longer than in any other country in the world.
Russia and Belarus
Russia has an “extremely difficult” situation with media freedom. The Russian state continues its crusade against independent journalism, and more than 1,500 journalists have fled abroad since the invasion of Ukraine. According to the report, “the list of journalists and media outlets branded as ‘foreign agents’ and ‘undesirable organizations’ has expanded, and journalists continue to be arbitrarily imprisoned.”
Russia took 162nd place in the ranking. The situation in Belarus is even worse, at 167th.
