The United Nations has warned that press freedom is under attack around the globe as nations on Wednesday mark World Press Freedom Day – with Reporters Without Borders (RSF) finding the situation for journalists was satisfactory in only three out of 10 countries.
"All our freedom depends on press freedom," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a video message from New York, calling it the "foundation of democracy and justice" and the "lifeblood of human rights".
"But in every corner of the world, freedom of the press is under attack."
RSF said 55 journalists and four media workers had been killed in the line of duty in 2022.
To highlighting the problem, Unesco awarded its 2023 World Press Freedom Prize to three Iranian women – two journalists and a human rights activist – who have been jailed.
RSF’s 2023 World Press Freedom Index – which evaluates the environment for journalism in 180 countries and territories – found the situation was “very serious” in 31 countries, “difficult” in 42, “problematic” in 55, and “good” or “satisfactory” in 52 countries.
Norway was ranked first for the seventh year running. But – unusually – a non-Nordic country was ranked second, namely Ireland (up four places), ahead of Denmark (down one place).
The bottom three places were occupied by Asian countries: Vietnam (178th), which has almost completed its hunt of independent reporters and commentators; China (down four at 179th), the world’s biggest jailer of journalists and one of the biggest exporters of propaganda content; and North Korea (180th).
Digital misinformation
The index also shines a light on the way the digital age is changing the world’s information landscape, and effects the fake content industry has had on press freedom.
In two-thirds of countries evaluated, most of the index questionnaire’s respondents said political figures in their countries were often involved in massive disinformation or propaganda campaigns.
RSF said it’s becoming harder to tell the difference between what is true and false or real and artificial – jeopardising the right to information.
Meanwhile Guterres said: "Truth is threatened by disinformation and hate speech, seeking to blur the lines between fact and fiction, between science and conspiracy."
Unesco Director General Audrey Azoulay said the impacts of the digital age had made "professional, free, independent journalism" more necessary than ever – adding that harassment and intimidation of journalists was unacceptable.
"We find ourselves at a new crossroads," Azoulay said. "Our current path is leading us away from informed public debates ... a path towards ever more polarisation."
New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger said it was not only direct repression that threatened journalists and freedom of information.
"The internet also unleashed the avalanche of misinformation, propaganda, punditry and clickbait that now overwhelms our information ecosystem... accelerating the decline in societal trust," he said.
"When the free press erodes, democratic erosion almost always follows."
(with wires)
