Press Freedom is “Bad” in 7 Out of 10 Countries
The 2023 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on World Press Freedom Day (3 May) holds a grim forecast for journalists worldwide. According to the report, the environment for journalism is "bad" in seven out of ten countries. In the majority of the 180 countries assessed, the conditions for press freedom are poor, defined as "problematic" (31 percent), "difficult" (23 percent) or "very serious" (17 percent). Just eight countries in the world—all located in Europe—have "good" press freedom.
The "very serious" category is the greatest concern, as three more countries—Turkey, India, and Tajikistan—have joined the list in the past year. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) continues to be the most dangerous region for journalists, with no countries showing positive press freedom. East and South Asia is home to the three lowest-ranking countries: Vietnam, China, and North Korea. Russia has one of the worst scores for security because 22 journalists and two media workers are currently detained, and because the country has banned all independent media since the invasion of Ukraine.
The remaining quarter of newspapers (24 percent) have a "satisfactory" situation, a small increase from 2022. The U.K. is down two places to 26th because of individuals and corporations misusing the court system to “silence investigative reporting” and Parliament’s empty, actionless promises to rectify the situation. The U.S. is also down three places to 45th, partly due to the murders of journalists Jeff German and Dyland Lyons, and because of the decline in local news sources throughout rural America.
Some changes in press freedom can be attributed to political upheaval. For example, Brazil is up 18 places, partly due to the end of Bolsonaro's administration: “Former President Jair Bolsonaro’s attacks on the media continued until the last day of his term at the end of 2022. The advent of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration restored stability to relations between the media and government,” notes RSF, “But structural violence against journalists, highly concentrated media ownership, and the effects of disinformation still pose major challenges for press freedom.”
Senegal is down 31 places. From RSF: “There was an increase in arrests and violence against media professionals [in Senegal] in 2022. The months leading up to parliamentary elections saw a disturbing escalation in verbal and physical threats against journalists, particularly from political actors on all sides of the spectrum. For the first time since 2004, an investigative journalist spent almost two months in prison, accused – among other things – of disclosing information ‘liable to endanger national defence’ and ‘false news liable to discredit public institutions.’ The pre-trial detention of another journalist, as well as attacks on reporters have also fuelled concern for the safety of media personnel.”
This worldwide landscape of press freedom is concerning, at best. "Authoritarian leaders have been emboldened by the actions of others and are increasingly adept at using a toolkit of repression that includes spreading fake content and propaganda. Unprecedented volatility in the rankings reveals how quickly the environment for journalists can change – both for better and for worse," said Fiona O'Brien, UK Bureau Director, RSF.
AI programs are also beginning to pose serious challenges to separating real information from fake, thus undermining journalism and turning public opinion against journalists, which can then in turn lead to violence against them. Social media has only added fuel to the flames in the last 12 months, especially on Twitter, where Elon Musk continues to ban journalists for “simply doing their job.”
The latest example happened at the end of April, when Wired reporter Dell Cameron was banned for reporting on the hacker who targeted Matt Walsh, a notorious far-right commentator. Vanity Fair recounted that “after revealing that he [Cameron] had interviewed the man who claimed responsibility for hacking Walsh’s Twitter account, Cameron’s account was hit with a permanent suspension for supposedly violating Twitter’s policy against distributing ‘content obtained through hacking that contains private information.’”
Overall, without large structural changes that address some of the pitfalls of technology as well as without large checks on authoritarian or aspiring authoritarian rulers, the future of journalism and the safety of journalists looks bleak. Misinformation and disinformation has the capability to multiply and spread at an alarming rate. Governments around the world must act to protect press freedom, or we could be in for watching the slow-motion collapse of democracy itself.
