JournalismPakistan.com | Published April 26, 2017
Join our WhatsApp channel
PARIS - Press freedom has never been as threatened as it is now, in the "new post-truth era of fake news" after the election of US President Donald Trump, Reporters Without Borders warned Wednesday.
Its annual World Press Freedom Index warned of the "highly toxic" media-bashing of Trump's election campaign and Britain´s Brexit referendum.
The situation is at "a tipping point," it said bluntly.
Media freedom is being undermined by the rise in surveillance and of authoritarian strongmen across the globe, the watchdog said.
The US and Britain both slipped two places in the index to 43rd and 40th, according to the Paris-based monitoring group, known by its French initials RSF.
"Nothing seems to be checking" the erosion of liberty of the press in leading democracies, it said.
"Media freedom has never been so threatened."
Liberty of the press is in peril or in a "very serious situation" in 72 countries including Russia, India, and China, it found.
"Attacks on the media have become commonplace and strongmen are on the rise. We have reached the age of post-truth, propaganda, and suppression of freedoms -- especially in democracies," the report said.
"Donald Trump´s rise to power... and the Brexit campaign were marked by high-profile media-bashing, a highly toxic anti-media discourse that drove the world into a new era of post-truth, disinformation and fake news," it added.
Poland and Hungary came in for withering criticism in the report.
The nationalist government in Warsaw was accused of "turning public radio and TV stations into propaganda tools" and of trying to throttle independent newspapers.
"Media freedom has retreated wherever the authoritarian strongman model has triumphed," it warned.
Turkey "swung over into the authoritarian regime camp" after the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July, it said, adding bitterly that it "now distinguishes itself as the world´s biggest prison for media professionals."
Seven places ahead of Turkey, "Vladimir Putin´s Russia remains firmly entrenched in the bottom fifth of the index," in 148th place, it added.
"The rate at which democracies are approaching the tipping point is alarming for all those who understand that, if media freedom is not secure, then none of the other freedoms can be guaranteed," RSF Secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.
"Where will this downward spiral take us?" he asked.
The RSF index found that in the past year nearly two thirds of the countries had registered deterioration in their situation, while the number of countries where the media freedom situation was "good" or "fairly good" fell by more than two percent.
Norway came out top of the index with the world´s freest media.
It took over from neighboring Finland which had held the title for six years.
At the other end of the scale, North Korea took bottom place from another repressive closed state, Eritrea, which has propped up the table for a decade.
North Korea continues to keep "its population in ignorance and terror," RSF said.
"Even listening to a foreign radio broadcast can lead to a spell in a concentration camp."
China, war-torn Syria -- the deadliest country for journalists -- and Turkmenistan complete the bottom five.
Italy showed the biggest improvement, rising 25 places to 52nd place thanks to the acquittal of journalists tried in the Vatileaks II case, which exposed a scandal at the top of the Catholic Church.
Nicaragua registered the biggest fall of 17 places with the controversial re-election of President Daniel Ortega "marked by many cases of censorship, intimidation, harassment and arbitrary arrest," the RSF said.
Tanzania also saw a sharp decline. President John Magufuli "keeps tightening his grip on the media," RSF said.- AFP/Image: RSF
April 11, 2025: Sindhi journalist AD Shar was brutally murdered in Khairpur, Sindh. His body was found dumped on Handiyari Link Road. PFUJ has declared a three-day mourning period and demanded justice.
April 10, 2025: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir government has filed a case against The Daily Jammu & Kashmir and its staff for alleged fake news, drawing condemnation from PFUJ and IFJ, who demand immediate withdrawal of the FIR and an end to media repression in Pakistan.
April 08, 2025: Journalist Arzoo Kazmi alleges that Pakistan's state agencies, including the FIA, have blocked her CNIC, passport, and bank account while threatening her. She calls it a direct attack on journalism.
April 07, 2025: The Islamabad High Court has directed IG Islamabad to produce journalist Ahmad Noorani’s missing brothers, as the Ministry of Defence denies custody. SIM activity was traced in Bahawalpur, and investigations into their suspected abduction continue.
April 07, 2025: Journalist and Raftar founder Farhan Mallick has been granted bail by a Karachi court in a case concerning anti-state content aired on his YouTube channel. He still faces separate charges related to an alleged illegal call center and data theft.
April 03, 2025: Veteran journalist Ghulam Abbas Shah has joined Discover Pakistan Television as the Head of Programming. With 25 years of experience in leading news organizations, he looks forward to contributing to quality storytelling and content.
April 02, 2025: The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has strongly condemned the visit of a group of Pakistani journalists to Israel, calling it a violation of journalistic ethics and a betrayal of press freedom and human rights. PFUJ demands a transparent investigation into the matter.
March 30, 2025: Dawn criticizes Pakistan’s plan to use TV dramas against extremism, highlighting financial and digital challenges. Can media alone solve deep-rooted issues?
April 03, 2025 The International Press Institute (IPI) and International Media Support (IMS) invite nominations for the 2025 World Press Freedom Hero and Free Media Pioneer Awards. Recognizing courageous journalists and innovative media, the awards will be presented at IPI’s 75th-anniversary World Congress in Vienna. Submit your nominations by April 30, 2025.
April 01, 2025 Photojournalist Suresh Rajak was burned alive while covering a violent protest in Kathmandu. The IFJ and its affiliates condemn the attack and call for an urgent investigation to hold the perpetrators accountable.
April 01, 2025 Assam Police arrested digital journalist Dilwar Hussain Mozumder for covering a protest against alleged corruption at Assam Co-Operative Bank. Media organizations have condemned the arrest, calling it an attack on press freedom.
March 29, 2025 A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle Voice of America (VOA), ruling that the move likely violated legal procedures. The decision protects over 1,200 journalists and media staff.
March 28, 2025 Turkey deports BBC journalist Mark Lowen over 'public order' threat and fines opposition TV channels covering Istanbul Mayor's arrest. Critics condemn crackdown on press freedom amid rising political tensions.