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?????????????????????????????????????????????????Friday, April 28, 2017
2017 World Press Freedom Index – tipping point
The
2017 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders
(RSF) reflects a world in which attacks on the media have become
commonplace and strongmen are on the rise. We have reached the age of
post-truth, propaganda, and suppression of freedoms – especially in
democracies.
I. Democracies falling, advent of strongmen
RSF’s latest World Press Freedom Index highlights the danger of a
tipping point in the state of media freedom, especially in leading
democratic countries. (Read our analysis entitled Journalism weakened by democracy’s erosion.) Democracies began falling in the Index in preceding years and now, more than ever, nothing seems to be checking that fall.
The obsession with surveillance and violations of the right to the
confidentiality of sources have contributed to the continuing decline of
many countries previously regarded as virtuous. This includes the
United States (down 2 places at 43rd), the United Kingdom (down 2 at
40th), Chile (down 2 at 33rd), and New Zealand (down 8 at 13th).
Donald Trump’s rise to power in the United States and the Brexit campaign in the United Kingdom were marked by high-profile media bashing, a highly toxic anti-media discourse that drove the world into a new era of post-truth, disinformation, and fake news.
Media freedom has retreated wherever the authoritarian strongman model has triumphed. Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s Poland (54th) lost
seven places in the 2017 Index. After turning public radio and TV
stations into propaganda tools, the Polish government set about trying
to financially throttle independent newspapers that were opposed to its
reforms.
Viktor Orbán’s Hungary (71st) has fallen four places. John Magufuli’s Tanzania (83rd) has fallen 12. After the failed coup against Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
Turkey (down 4 at 155th) swung over into the authoritarian regime camp
and now distinguishes itself as the world’s biggest prison for media
professionals. Vladimir Putin’s Russia remains firmly entrenched in the
bottom fifth of the Index at 148th.
“The rate at which democracies are approaching the tipping point is
alarming for all those who understand that, if media freedom is not
secure, then none of the other freedoms can be guaranteed,” RSF
secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. “Where will this downward
spiral take us?”
II. Norway first, North Korea last
In the emerging new world of media control, even the top-ranked Nordic
countries are slipping down the Index. After six years at the top,
Finland (down 2 at 3rd) has surrendered its No. 1 position due to political pressure and conflicts of interests.
The top spot has been taken by Norway (up 2 at 1st), which is not a
European Union member. This is a blow for the European model. Sweden has
risen six places to take 2nd position. Journalists continue to be
threatened in Sweden but the authorities sent a positive signal in the
past year by convicting several of those responsible.
The cooperation between the police and certain media outlets and
journalists’ unions was also seen as a step forward in combatting the
threats.
At the other end of the Index, Eritrea (179th)
has surrendered last place to North Korea for the first time since
2007, after allowing closely-monitored foreign media crews into the
country. North Korea (180th) continues to keep its population in
ignorance and terror – even listening to a foreign radio broadcast can
lead to a spell in a concentration camp. The Index’s bottom five also
include Turkmenistan (178th), one of the world’s most repressive and
self-isolated dictatorships, which keeps increasing its persecution of
journalists, and Syria (177th), riven by a never-ending war and still the deadliest country for journalists, who are targeted by both its ruthless dictator and Jihadi rebels. (See our analysis entitled 2017 Press Freedom Index – ever darker world map.)
MEDIA FREEDOM NEVER SO THREATENED
Media freedom has never been so threatened and RSF’s “global indicator”
has never been so high (3872). This measure of the overall level of
media freedom constraints and violations worldwide has risen 14% in the
span of five years. In the past year, nearly two thirds (62.2%) of the
countries measured* have registered a deterioration in their
situation, while the number of countries where the media freedom
situation was “good” or “fairly good” fell by 2.3%.
The Middle East and North Africa region, which has ongoing wars in Yemen
(down 4 at 166th) as well as Syria, continues to be the world’s most
difficult and dangerous region for journalists. Eastern Europe and
Central Asia, the second worst region, does not lag far behind. Nearly
two third of its countries are ranked below or around the 150th mark in
the Index. In addition to Turkey’s downward spiral, 2016 was marked by a
clampdown on independent media in Russia, while the despots in such
former Soviet republics as Tajikistan (149th), Turkmenistan (178th), and
Azerbaijan (162nd) perfected their systems of control and repression.
The Asia-Pacific region is the third worst violator overall but holds
many of the worst kinds of records. Two of its countries, China (176th)
and Vietnam (175th), are the world’s biggest prisons for journalists and
bloggers. It has some of the most dangerous countries for journalists:
Pakistan (139th), Philippines (127th) and Bangladesh (146th). It also
has the biggest number of “press freedom predators” at the head of the
world’s worst dictatorships, including China, North Korea (180th), and
Laos (170th), which are news and information black holes.
Africa comes next, where the Internet is now routinely disconnected at
election time and during major protests. More than five points separate
then the African region from the Americas, where Cuba (down 2 at 173rd)
is the only country in the black (i.e. “very bad”) zone of the Index,
which is otherwise reserved for the worst dictatorships and
authoritarian regimes of Asia and the Middle East.
Finally, the European Union and Balkans region continues to be the one
where the media are freest, although its regional indicator (of the
overall level of constraints and violations) registered the biggest
increase in the past year: +3.8%. The differences in regional indicator
change over the past five years are particularly noticeable. The
European Union and Balkans indicator rose 17.5% over the past five
years. During the same period, the Asia-Pacific indicator increased by
only 0.9%.
The word’s regions (in descending order of respect for media freedom)
III. Rises, falls, and illusory improvements
Nicaragua (down
17 at 92nd) distinguished itself in 2017 by falling further than any
other country on the Index. For the independent and opposition media,
President Daniel Ortega’s controversial re-election was marked by many
cases of censorship, intimidation, harassment, and arbitrary arrest.
Tanzania (down 12 at 83rd), where President John “Bulldozer” Magufuli keeps tightening his grip on the media, also suffered a significant fall.
Amid all the decline, rises in two countries seem particularly promising
and will hopefully continue. After ridding itself of its autocratic
president, Gambia (up 2 at 143rd) has rediscovered uncensored newspapers
and is planning to amend legislation that is restrictive for the media.
The historic peace accord in Colombia (up 5 at 129th) has ended a
52-year armed conflict that was a source of censorship and violence
against the media. No journalists were killed in 2016, making it the
first time in seven years that journalists survived their work.
However, other sizeable jumps in the 2017 Index are probably deceptive. Italy (52nd)
has risen 25 places after acquitting several journalists including the
two Italian journalists who were tried in the VatiLeaks 2 case. But it
continues to be one of the European countries where the most journalists
are threatened by organized crime.
France has risen six places to 39th position but it was simply
recovering from the exceptional fall it suffered in the 2016 Index
because of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. It is a country where
journalists struggle to defend their independence in an increasingly
violent and hostile environment. Excepting the 2016 Index, France’s
latest score (22.24) is its worst since 2013, a decline that is due
inter alia to problems arising from businessmen using the media as a source of influence. RSF welcomed a new law on media independence but it did not suffice to significantly modify the situation.
In Asia, the Philippines (127th) rose 11 places, partly because of a
fall in the number of journalists killed in 2016, but the insults and
open threats against the media by President Rodrigo Duterte, another new
strongman, do not bode well.
Evolution in France’s score
Published annually by RSF since 2002, the World Press Freedom Index measures the level of media freedom in 180 countries, including the level of pluralism, media independence, and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. The 2017 Index takes account of violations that took place between January 1st and December 31stof 2016.
The global indicator and the regional indicators are calculated based on
the scores assigned to each country. The country scores are calculated
from the answers to a questionnaire in 20 languages that is completed by
experts throughout the world, supported by a qualitative analysis. The
scores and indicators measure the level of constraints and violations,
so the higher the figure, the worse the situation. Because of growing
awareness of the Index, it is an extremely useful and increasingly
influential advocacy tool.
* The term “country” is used in its ordinary sense, without any special political meaning or allusion to certain territories.
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