Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says press freedom worldwide has fallen to its lowest level in 25 years in its latest World Press Freedom Index. The Paris-based NGO assessed 180 countries on a five-point scale from “very serious” to “good,” and for the first time since the index began in 2002 a majority of states are rated in the “difficult” or “very serious” categories — a trend RSF describes as the growing criminalisation of journalism.
Only seven countries, mostly in the Nordics, earned a “good” rating; Norway, the Netherlands and Estonia occupy the top three positions. France ranks 25th with a “satisfactory” assessment. The United States is placed 64th, labelled “problematic” and down seven places since Donald Trump became president; RSF argues that Trump’s repeated attacks on the press have been institutionalised, citing incidents including the detention and deportation of Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara while covering a protest and the suspension of several public media bodies.
RSF highlights steep backsliding across parts of Latin America, noting Argentina’s drop under Javier Milei (98th, down 11) and El Salvador’s fall to 143rd — a decline of 105 places since 2014 amid its anti‑gang campaign. The report identifies Eastern Europe and the Middle East as particularly hazardous for reporters, with Russia (172nd) and Iran (177th) among the lowest-ranked countries.
Armed conflict and restricted information access are major drivers of the decline. RSF points to repeated attacks on journalists by Israeli forces in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon, ranking Israel 116th. The organisation reports that, since October 2023, more than 220 journalists have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, including at least 70 who were reportedly killed while performing their work.
Overall, RSF finds that over 60 percent of countries (110 of 180) now criminalise media workers in various ways. Other notable low rankings include India (157th), Egypt (169th), Georgia (135th), Türkiye (163rd) and Hong Kong (140th).
Anne Bocandé, RSF’s editorial director, attributes the criminalisation of journalism to a mix of authoritarian governments, complicit or ineffectual political authorities, predatory economic interests and poorly regulated online platforms. She urged democratic governments and citizens to intervene, calling for stronger legal protections and meaningful sanctions. Bocandé warned that current safeguards are insufficient, international law is being eroded and impunity is widespread, adding that failing to act effectively amounts to tacit approval and that the advance of authoritarian measures is not inevitable.