In its 2022 press freedom ranking, Reporters Without Borders warns of “information chaos” and disinformation.
“Information chaos” and disinformation fuel both international tensions and divisions within societies, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warned on Tuesday in the 2022 edition of its world press freedom ranking.
In total, 73% of the 180 countries assessed each year are characterized by situations deemed “very serious”, “difficult”, or “problematic” concerning the freedom of journalists to work.
If this proportion remains identical to that of last year, the number of countries (28) where the situation is “very serious” reached a record while only 8 showed a “good situation”, against 12 last year.
RSF notes a “polarization on two levels”, between and within countries, fueled by “the rise of disinformation circuits” in democratic societies and by “media control” in authoritarian regimes.
The polarization has “become more extreme” and affects countries “all over the world”, said Rebecca Vincent, campaign director at RSF, during a press conference.
She also highlighted the murders of journalists in the Netherlands and Greece, and mentioned the founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange, detained in the United Kingdom and who risks being extradited to the United States.
“The creation of a media arsenal in certain authoritarian regimes deprives citizens of their right to information but also contributes to the rise of international tensions that can lead to the worst wars”, notes in a press release the secretary general of RSF, Christophe Deloire. .
According to the NGO, the Russian invasion of Ukraine illustrates this polarization, a “propaganda war” having preceded the sending of troops from Moscow (ranked 155th) on Ukrainian territory.
Hong Kong, “the biggest fall of the year” in the ranking
Similarly, China (175th) “uses its legislative arsenal to confine its population and cut it off from the rest of the world, in particular in Hong Kong”, which fell from 80th place to 148th in the ranking after the authoritarian takeover. by Beijing.
“This is the biggest drop (in the rankings) of the year”, but “fully deserved due to the constant attacks on press freedom and the gradual disappearance of the rule of law in Hong Kong “, reacted to AFP Cedric Alviani, head of RSF for East Asia.
The testimonies of several journalists highlighted the current landscape. Britain’s Stuart Ramsay of Sky News, who thought he was going to die when his team was shot in Ukraine, stressed the importance of local journalists but also of “training” and “equipment ” in the field.
Evgeniya Dillendorf, of the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, whose “six journalists have been killed since 2000” and which has suspended its publication, pointed out that “the lack of independence of the media” stems from the “lack of independent companies to finance them , the lack of an independent judiciary to defend them” in Russia.
Hong Kong-based Kris Cheng considers himself privileged to continue journalism from the UK, when many of his colleagues whose publications were closed had to give up and retrain, to find themselves behind the wheel of a taxi or In a restaurant.
Within democratic states, “the Fox News-ization of the media poses a fatal risk because it endangers the foundations of a harmonious society and tolerant public debate”, adds Christophe Deloire.
Democratic societies are dividing due to the rise of opinion media “following the model of Fox News”, the favorite channel of American conservatives, and “the extent of disinformation circuits, amplified by the way social networks operate “.
This internal polarization has increased social and political tensions in the United States (42nd), notes RSF, and in France (26th), which nevertheless rose eight places in the ranking.
At the bottom of the rankings are still China, ahead of Burma, Turkmenistan, Iran, Eritrea and North Korea.
At the top of the table, Norway retains its first place for the sixth consecutive year, ahead of Denmark and Sweden. RSF also highlights the hopes brought by changes of government in Moldova (40th) and Bulgaria (91st).