Press freedom in 2019: Norway best, Iran at the bottom of the table

Norway has topped the 2019 Reporters Without Borders press freedom rankings for the fourth consecutive year. North Korea, Eritrea and China are the bottom three countries on the list. Iran is ranked 173rd out of 180 countries.

Reporters Without Borders has published its annual press freedom report for 2019. In this report, Norway has the freest press among 180 countries for the fourth consecutive year. Norway is followed by Finland and Denmark.

At the bottom of the 2019 press freedom rankings is North Korea. This country has swapped places with Turkmenistan; in 2018, Turkmenistan was the last country and North Korea was ahead of it, but in 2019, Turkmenistan's situation has improved slightly and it is ranked 179th, while North Korea has fallen one place.

Iran has fallen three places from 170th to 173rd place compared to the previous year. Saudi Arabia, however, is ranked 170th this year, three places higher than Iran. Iran's press freedom situation is worse than all of its neighbors; Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and even the Republic of Azerbaijan are in a better position than Iran.

Eritrea and China are also in positions 178 and 177.

This report is based on questionnaires as well as the number of attacks on the media and media workers.

Middle East and North Africa: The worst

According to Reporters Without Borders, the media situation in Asia has clearly worsened. North Africa and the Middle East also have the worst press freedom situation in the world.

Journalists in war-torn countries in the region, such as Syria and Yemen, are constantly at risk of death. In countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq, censorship, arbitrary arrests, persecution and torture of journalists continue and have become commonplace. In Algeria, the situation is also generally negative.

Turkey and Russia are among the bottom third of the list. Russia, which widely suppresses critical reporting, is in 149th place, and Turkey, which has climbed three places to 154th, remains one of the world's largest prisons of journalists.

Corona and the focus of repressive tendencies against the media

Reporters Without Borders has stated in its report that dictatorial, authoritarian, and populist governments continue to make increasing efforts to suppress the free and independent flow of information at any cost.

The most important examples are the governments of China, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt; countries with the largest number of imprisoned journalists and media workers worldwide, arrested solely for their work.

China, in particular, is working hard to establish a “new global media order.” According to Reporters Without Borders, the effects of China’s near-total control over the spread of news during the coronavirus outbreak have been felt around the world.

In other countries, press freedom has also been blatantly suppressed in recent months. A spokesperson for the head of Reporters Without Borders says that the coronavirus pandemic has focused all the repressive tendencies against the press and media around the world in one spot, like a magnifying glass.

However, Reporters Without Borders emphasized that the questionnaires were sent before the outbreak of COVID-19, and therefore the results obtained from them do not directly explain COVID-19 and its impact on press freedom.

Germany's double promotion  

In the 2019 press freedom rankings, Germany rose two places from 13th to 11th place. According to statistics from Reporters Without Borders, which have been published regularly since 2013, the number of attacks on journalists in Germany has decreased significantly.

The reason for this decrease is that in 2019, populist groups did not hold any notable demonstrations in which journalists were attacked, unlike in 2018, when only two cities, Chemnitz and Köthen, experienced serious attacks on journalists.

The number of such attacks in Germany in 2019 was 13, while in 2018, 22 attacks on journalists and reporters were recorded in Germany.

An excuse called fighting fake news 

In its latest annual ranking of press freedom around the world, Reporters Without Borders warned that many countries have restricted media freedom under the pretext of combating fake news.

The independent organization cited Singapore and the African country of Benin as examples.

In other countries, such as Russia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, groups called “trolls,” which reporters have referred to as “troll armies,” are employed by governments to spread false information, thereby misleading public opinion and discrediting critical media outlets. These trolls are most commonly employed by the governments of Iran, China, and Russia.

In the United States and Brazil, presidents who were elected through a democratic process are busy spreading hostility and hatred.

According to Reporters Without Borders, in 2019, distrust of the news media led to violence against journalists by populist groups in many parts of the world.

Even in countries such as Spain, Italy, and Greece, nationalists and far-right extremists have not shied away from using violence and directly threatening journalists.

Reporters Without Borders also warns that advertising revenue has fallen sharply, while production costs have risen, leading to ever-smaller editorial departments and the proliferation of media giants.

Reporters Without Borders has finally stated that anyone who wants to have free access to reliable and credible information should strive to provide journalists with as many avenues for research and reporting as possible during these difficult times.

Source: DW