Every day, reports come in from around the world that the vital freedom of the press has taken a hit in many places, often as increasingly authoritarian leaders attempt to hinder independent scrutiny of their actions. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reports that press freedom today is at its lowest level in 25 years.
At the same time, however, there are countries where the trend is moving in the opposite direction, which is worth highlighting. TT is now reporting that Poland has quickly made a huge leap up the list of countries with the greatest press freedom. RSF spokesperson Erik Larsson comments:
"Their previous government attacked and controlled the media. Now, their new government has sought to restore what was lost. So they have climbed about 40 spots in just a few years and are now ranked 27th."
Otherwise, it's a pretty grim read overall as the report reviews what has changed over the past year, with the U.S., for example, dropping seven spots and now ranking 64th in the world. In the top 20, we find the three Scandinavian countries, and in fact, the entire top 20 consists of European nations with one single exception - Canada, in 20th place. Here is the list:
Top 20
Norway
Netherlands
Estonia
Denmark
Sweden
Finland
Ireland
Switzerland
Luxembourg
Portugal
Czech Republic
Iceland
Liechtenstein
Germany
Lithuania
Belgium
Latvia
United Kingdom
Austria
Canada
The bottom rankings, representing the world's absolute worst press freedom, where the media is loyal to the regime and should be viewed as propaganda rather than news, look like this:
Bottom 5
Saudi Arabia
Iran
China
North Korea
Eritrea