Dictators, democracies and the death of a free press

Dr. Press freedom around the world is collapsing under the weight of censorship, intimidation and state-sponsored persecution as governments tighten their control over information, writes Binoy Kampmark.

AUTHORS, writers, writers and publishers; All of them face increasingly deteriorating conditions as they continue their work to combat the tramps of secrecy and impunity.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index There is bad news about this.

For the first time since the launch of the index, RSF states:

‘…more than half of the world’s countries now fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories for press freedom. ‘In 25 years, the average score for all 180 countries and territories examined in the Index has never been this low.’

RSF uses five contextual considerations to arrive at its scores on press freedom: indicators: Political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and security.

The political context assesses, among other things, the extent of support for and respect for media autonomy in relation to political pressure by the state or various political actors. Important factors in legal matters include the scope of censorship, judicial sanctions and restrictions on freedom of expression.

The economic dimension takes into account factors such as the difficulties of establishing news media, the fight against corruption, the allocation of state aid and the interests of media owners.

The sociocultural context includes: such problems like ‘Insults and attacks against the press based on issues such as gender, class, ethnicity and religion’ and cultural restrictions on reporting.

Safety focuses on journalists’ ability to identify, gather, and disseminate news without facing bodily harm, psychological or emotional distress, and professional harm.

There are several reasons put forward by the group for the rapid decline in press freedoms. Armed conflict is inevitable, it plays a devastating role. Iraq (ranked 162nd), Sudan one place above, and Yemen at 164th. The ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinians has been disastrous for press freedom, especially as more than 220 journalists have been killed by Israel in Gaza since October 2023. Israel Defense Forces. Seventy of those killed were killed while doing their jobs.

Authoritarian regimes have done little to move the index up. China remains confidently repressive against journalists at 178, while North Korea ranks strongly below. Eritrea finished last with 180. Russia, ranked 172nd, continues to clear its books by targeting journalists (48 journalists remain in prison as of April 2026), a situation not helped by the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The Iranian regime (177) continues its deliberate brutality against journalists. Saudi Arabia, despite ostentatious, kitsch modernization efforts led by a cranky prince Mohammed bin SalmanThere was no softening on press freedom. On June 14 last year, a Saudi journalist Turki al-Jasser it was applied after seven years of arbitrary imprisonment. Al-Jasser had been accused by Saudi authorities of operating the X account called Kashkol, which tended to publish material linking the House of Saud to human rights abuses and corruption.

Of all the states recorded, Niger recorded the most dramatic decline, with 120 points (down 37 places). This, based on To RSF, underline ‘The wider decline in press freedom in the Sahel region in recent years, due to attacks by armed groups and ruling juntas, has suppressed the right to receive balanced information from a variety of sources’.

The organization notes with despair that the statutory indicator of the Index is set to decline sharply in 2026:

‘This score worsened in more than 60% of states (110 of 180) between 2025 and 2026.’

Journalism is systematically criminalized ‘It stems from circumvention of the press law and abuse of emergency laws and common law.’.

Invoking national security laws and regulations is a favorite. Cite terrorism as the charge, as it did to the journalist French Mae Cumpioand a prosecution, however unfounded, would be simple and successful. (In Cumpio’s case, shoddy accusation It was the financing of terrorism.)

The net regarding national security in Türkiye is widely drawn, including accusations of “disinformation” under Article 299 of the Constitution. Criminal Code It includes the accusation of insulting the President and “insulting state institutions”. While states claim to use the law appropriately, they resort to strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPP).

RSF highlights Bulgaria (71) and Guatemala (128) as practitioners of the art. Not to be left out, political and business plutocrats use the law to prevent their antics from being revealed in the press. Indonesia (129), Singapore (123) and Thailand (92) are considered experts in this field.

The protection of journalists against legal or physical threats was also found to be distressing; More than 80 percent of countries have been exposed to these threats. ‘Non-existent or ineffective’ amount. Even European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), which was seen as a solid armor for the independence and sustainability of media organisations, has been weakened by local legislatures. Hungary (ranked 74th) only recently got rid of its long-serving Prime Minister Viktor OrbanRSF was successful in this regard, although it also drew attention to the programs of countries such as Slovakia (37) and Lithuania (15).

Rounding out this inglorious list are the United States (64), Argentina (98) and El Salvador (143). US President Donald Trump RSF continues to pursue and harass the Fourth Estate, while being particularly concerned with the cuts to the US Agency for Global Media (USGM) is responsible for the massive weakening of personnel Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Freedom And Radio Free Asia.

Rankings are cold measurements in themselves. They can also prove to be ambiguous. But there is nothing ambiguous about the insatiable appetite for cruelty shown by states of all political persuasions in attacking reporters and broadcasters.

The dictates of the national security state and its desperation to control narratives, its desperation to hold the line against exposure of lies and bad behavior, remain the greatest disease threat to the Fourth Estate.