[ad_1]
Global press freedoms were at an “all-time low,” Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in its annual ranking report on Friday, particularly noting a deterioration under US President Donald Trump.
“More than half of the world’s population lives in countries with a ‘very serious’ situation,” the France-based, non-profit organization said in its report, released ahead of International Press Freedom Day.
RSF said its main index has fallen to its lowest-ever level in the 23 years that it has been tracking press freedom.
The rankings are made by experts after considering the number of violent incidents involving journalists in each country, as well as other relevant data. They assess the situation in a country or territory in five categories: politics, law, economy, socio-culture and security.
What did RSF say about press freedom in the US?
RSF noted that the situation in the US has worsened since Trump took office in January.
“In the United States, Donald Trump’s second term as president has led to an alarming deterioration in press freedom, indicative of an authoritarian shift in government,” RSF said.
“His administration has weaponized institutions, cut support for independent media, and sidelined reporters.”
The media watchdog referred to his administration cutting funding for state-funded broadcasters such as Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), as well as US foreign development aid that assisted media outlets overseas.
On Friday, Trump announced an executive order cutting funding to public news outlets NPR and PBS, calling them biased. He also said he was considering taking legal action against The New York Times.
The US fell two places from 2024 to the 57th spot behind Sierra Leone in West Africa. The report said vast regions of the US were turning into “news deserts.”
“When journalists are impoverished, they no longer have the means to resist the enemies of the press — those who champion disinformation and propaganda,” RSF Editorial Director Anne Bocande said in a statement.
Online advertising rose to $247.3 billion (roughly €218 billion) in 2024, but a major chunk of it was going to tech giants such as Meta, Google and Amazon rather than news organizations, RSF said.
Germany falls below top 10 in ranking ‘
The report noted that Europe was the region in the world where journalists enjoyed the most freedom, with China, North Korea and Eritrea as the bottom three out of 180 countries.
RSF Managing Director Anja Osterhaus said, “more than half of the world’s population now lives in countries where we categorize the press freedom situation as very serious. Independent journalism is a thorn in the side of autocrats.”
Norway topped the global rankings for the ninth year in a row, followed by Estonia and the Netherlands.
The situation was rated as “good” only in seven countries, all of which lie in Europe.
Germany, which was in the 10th place last year, dropped to the 11th spot. RSF owed the drop to an “increasingly hostile working environment for media professionals in Germany, particularly due to attacks from the far right.”
The report said German journalists also faced difficulties when reporting on the conflict in the Middle East.
The report also highlighted the plight of Palestinian journalists reporting on Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
“In Gaza, the Israeli army has destroyed newsrooms, killed nearly 200 journalists and imposed a total blockade on the strip for over 18 months,” it said.
Israel itself fell 11 places to the 112th position, and “continues to repress its own news media,” the report read.
[ad_2]
Source link
About the author
Musk-Miller patch up? Elon Musk follows Stephen Miller on X, Katie Miller stands by her husband
[ad_1] Elon Musk silently followed back Stephen Miller on X signaling rebuilding the bridges that he burned. After Elon Musk deleted the slanderous post against President Donald Trump, alleging that Trump is named in the Epstein files, Musk made some other silent peace offerings. Musk promoted Donald Trump's Truth Social post on the Los Angeles riots, and then he silently followed Stephen Miller back. Stephen Miller is the deputy chief of staff in the White House. His wife Katie Miller was the DOGE spokesperson when DOGE was working out of the White House. Now Katie Miller works full time for Elon Musk, which puts the husband-wife duo in a sticky position as they work for rivaling bosses. There were rumors that Katie Miller left her husband for Elon Musk and that before the breakup up the three were very close […]
‘Just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn’: ABC News reporter slammed for his description of LA riots
[ad_1] ABC7 journalist Marc Brown described LA rioters as just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn. Los Angeles ABC7 News anchor Marc Brown, during his live commentary on the Los Angeles riots, said police should not escalate their action as that would lead to a major confrontation and the situation could turn very volatile. "If you move law enforcement in there in the wrong way and turn what is just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn into a massive confrontation of altercation between officers and demonstrators," Brown said. MAGA commentators could not believe that a journalist could describe the riots like this. "ABC News wants you to know what is happening in California isn’t a violent riot. It’s 'just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn.' — ABC 7’s Marc Brown," one […]
‘It was wrapped in plastic’: Greta Thunberg trolled for sandwich photo amid kidnap claims. What is the truth?
[ad_1] Greta Thunberg was trolled for this photo as she was seen smiling seeing a sandwich while her pre-recorded video that she had been kidnapped was released. The photo of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, smiling at the sight of a sandwich, became the flashpoint on social media as people asked whether she was kidnapped at all, as she claimed. The Israeli foreign ministry called it a drama and posted the photo of the crew members of Madleen, the Gaza-bound aid ship -- sitting side by side while an Israeli soldier offered them bottled water and sandwiches. Greta Thunberg was also among them. But the Freedom Flotilla Coalition claimed earlier that the Israeli military attacked and unlawfully boarded the Madleen which was taking aid to Gaza. “If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters […]
Farmed production of some fish – and seaweed – is soaring
[ad_1] Asia leads global farmed fish production (Image credit: AFP) The amount of farmed seafood we consume -- as opposed to that taken wild from our waters -- is soaring every year, making aquaculture an ever-more important source for many diets, and a response to overfishing.According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, nearly 99 million tonnes of aquatic animals (fish, molluscs like oysters and mussels and crustaceans like prawns) were farmed around the world in 2023, five times more than three decades ago.Since 2022, the farming of aquatic animals has been steadily overtaking fishing around the world -- but with large disparities from species to species.Fast-growing species: The two biggest sellers on the market in 2023, carp and tilapia, mainly came from freshwater farming, while other widely-consumed fish, like herring, came just from deep sea fishing Thierry Laugier, a […]
‘Stop fanning the flames’: Gavin Newsom blames Trump admin for inciting violence in Los Angeles; says National Guard deployed without consulting governor
[ad_1] California’s Gavin Newsom tears into Trump admin for deploying National Guard to LA without his nod, says move is meant to ‘fan the flames’ of immigration unrest.Taking to X, Newsom wrote, “Donald Trump has manufactured a crisis and is inflaming conditions. If he can’t solve it, we will. To the bad actors fueling Trump’s flames, California will hold you accountable.”The clash erupted after Trump authorised the federal deployment under Title 10 of the US Code, overriding Newsom’s objections. This move means the National Guard now reports directly to the president instead of the governor. It marks the first time such federalisation has occurred since the 1992 Los Angeles riots.Newsom responded sharply to Trump ally JD Vance’s praise of the president’s “decisive leadership”, retorting, “Decisive leadership? You didn’t even know when your own National Guard was deployed on the ground. […]
Los Angeles riots: Australian reporter hit by rubber bullet while covering anti-immigration protests – Watch
[ad_1] Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi shot on camera The US correspondent of Australia's 9News was shot with a rubber bullet while reporting on the anti-immigration protests in the United States' Los Angeles. The incident was caught live on camera.Lauren Tomasi was shot in the leg while reporting in America's second-largest city, on Sunday."After hours of standing off, the situation has now rapidly deteriorated. The LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) moving in on horseback, firing rubber bullets at protesters, moving them on through the heart of LA," Tomasi said, as a loud bang was heard in the background.Also Read | ‘Calculated agenda to spread panic’: Kamala Harris slams Trump administration’s National Guard deployment in Los AngelesThe very next second, she is shot by an LAPD officer. 9News reported that the shot appeared to have been fired by the officer into the […]
Related
Musk-Miller patch up? Elon Musk follows Stephen Miller on X, Katie Miller stands by her husband
[ad_1] Elon Musk silently followed back Stephen Miller on X signaling rebuilding the bridges that he burned. After Elon Musk deleted the slanderous post against President Donald Trump, alleging that Trump is named in the Epstein files, Musk made some other silent peace offerings. Musk promoted Donald Trump's Truth Social post on the Los Angeles riots, and then he silently followed Stephen Miller back. Stephen Miller is the deputy chief of staff in the White House. His wife Katie Miller was the DOGE spokesperson when DOGE was working out of the White House. Now Katie Miller works full time for Elon Musk, which puts the husband-wife duo in a sticky position as they work for rivaling bosses. There were rumors that Katie Miller left her husband for Elon Musk and that before the breakup up the three were very close […]
‘Just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn’: ABC News reporter slammed for his description of LA riots
[ad_1] ABC7 journalist Marc Brown described LA rioters as just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn. Los Angeles ABC7 News anchor Marc Brown, during his live commentary on the Los Angeles riots, said police should not escalate their action as that would lead to a major confrontation and the situation could turn very volatile. "If you move law enforcement in there in the wrong way and turn what is just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn into a massive confrontation of altercation between officers and demonstrators," Brown said. MAGA commentators could not believe that a journalist could describe the riots like this. "ABC News wants you to know what is happening in California isn’t a violent riot. It’s 'just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn.' — ABC 7’s Marc Brown," one […]
‘It was wrapped in plastic’: Greta Thunberg trolled for sandwich photo amid kidnap claims. What is the truth?
[ad_1] Greta Thunberg was trolled for this photo as she was seen smiling seeing a sandwich while her pre-recorded video that she had been kidnapped was released. The photo of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, smiling at the sight of a sandwich, became the flashpoint on social media as people asked whether she was kidnapped at all, as she claimed. The Israeli foreign ministry called it a drama and posted the photo of the crew members of Madleen, the Gaza-bound aid ship -- sitting side by side while an Israeli soldier offered them bottled water and sandwiches. Greta Thunberg was also among them. But the Freedom Flotilla Coalition claimed earlier that the Israeli military attacked and unlawfully boarded the Madleen which was taking aid to Gaza. “If you see this video, we have been intercepted and kidnapped in international waters […]
Farmed production of some fish – and seaweed – is soaring
[ad_1] Asia leads global farmed fish production (Image credit: AFP) The amount of farmed seafood we consume -- as opposed to that taken wild from our waters -- is soaring every year, making aquaculture an ever-more important source for many diets, and a response to overfishing.According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, nearly 99 million tonnes of aquatic animals (fish, molluscs like oysters and mussels and crustaceans like prawns) were farmed around the world in 2023, five times more than three decades ago.Since 2022, the farming of aquatic animals has been steadily overtaking fishing around the world -- but with large disparities from species to species.Fast-growing species: The two biggest sellers on the market in 2023, carp and tilapia, mainly came from freshwater farming, while other widely-consumed fish, like herring, came just from deep sea fishing Thierry Laugier, a […]
‘Stop fanning the flames’: Gavin Newsom blames Trump admin for inciting violence in Los Angeles; says National Guard deployed without consulting governor
[ad_1] California’s Gavin Newsom tears into Trump admin for deploying National Guard to LA without his nod, says move is meant to ‘fan the flames’ of immigration unrest.Taking to X, Newsom wrote, “Donald Trump has manufactured a crisis and is inflaming conditions. If he can’t solve it, we will. To the bad actors fueling Trump’s flames, California will hold you accountable.”The clash erupted after Trump authorised the federal deployment under Title 10 of the US Code, overriding Newsom’s objections. This move means the National Guard now reports directly to the president instead of the governor. It marks the first time such federalisation has occurred since the 1992 Los Angeles riots.Newsom responded sharply to Trump ally JD Vance’s praise of the president’s “decisive leadership”, retorting, “Decisive leadership? You didn’t even know when your own National Guard was deployed on the ground. […]
Los Angeles riots: Australian reporter hit by rubber bullet while covering anti-immigration protests – Watch
[ad_1] Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi shot on camera The US correspondent of Australia's 9News was shot with a rubber bullet while reporting on the anti-immigration protests in the United States' Los Angeles. The incident was caught live on camera.Lauren Tomasi was shot in the leg while reporting in America's second-largest city, on Sunday."After hours of standing off, the situation has now rapidly deteriorated. The LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) moving in on horseback, firing rubber bullets at protesters, moving them on through the heart of LA," Tomasi said, as a loud bang was heard in the background.Also Read | ‘Calculated agenda to spread panic’: Kamala Harris slams Trump administration’s National Guard deployment in Los AngelesThe very next second, she is shot by an LAPD officer. 9News reported that the shot appeared to have been fired by the officer into the […]
Be the first to leave a comment