This week we have the second part on World Press Freedom Day. This very important human right is essential to the truth, democracy, justice, and development. We all have the duty to defend those who work to bring us the truth about what is happening around the world, mainly those who try to bring us about dangerous issues related to justice, democracy and human rights. This post is a summary of two articles. The first was published at https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/may/03/media-freedom-in-dire-state-in-record-number-of-countries-report-finds. The second was published at https://rsf.org/en/classement/2023/americas
Media freedom is in dire health in a record number of countries, according to the last annual snapshot, which warns that disinformation, propaganda and artificial intelligence pose mounting threats to journalism. The World Press Freedom Index - https://rsf.org/en/index - revealed a shocking slide, with an unprecedented 31 countries deemed to be in a "very serious situation", the lowest ranking in the report, up from 21 just two years ago. Increased aggressiveness from autocratic governments, and some that are considered democratic, coupled with "massive disinformation or propaganda campaigns" has caused the situation to go from bad to worse, according to the list, released by the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF). "Authoritarian leaders become increasingly bold in their attempts to silence the press", the secretary of RSF told the Guardian. "The international community needs to wake up to reality, and act together, decisively and fast, to reverse this dangerous trend." The survey assesses the state of the media in 180 countries, looking at the ability of journalists to publish news in the public interest without interference and without threats to their own safety. It shows rapid technological advances are allowing governments and political actors to distort reality, and fake content is easier to publish than ever before. "The difference is being blurred between true and false, real and artificial, facts and artifices, jeopardising the right to information," the report said. Russia, which already plummeted in the ranking last year, dropped another nine places, as state media slavishly parrots the Kremlin line while opposition outlets are driven into exile. Meanwhile, three countries: Tajikistan, India and Turkey, dropped from being ina "problematic situation" into the lowest category. India has been in a particularly sharp decline, sinking 11 places to 161 after media takeovers by oligarchs close to Narendra Modi. The Indian press used to be seen as fairly progressive, but things changed after the Hindu nationalist prime minister took over. In Turkey, the administration of the hardline president, Erdogan, had stepped up its persecution of journalists in the run-up to elections scheduled for 14 May. Turkey jails more journalists than any other democracy. Some of the index's biggest falls were in Africa. Senegal fell 31 places. Tunisia fell 27 places as a result of President growing authoritarianism. The Middle East is the world's most dangerous region for journalists. "We are witnessing worrying trends, but the big question is if these trends are hipcup or a sign of world going backwards," said Guilherme Canela, from UNESCO. "Physical attacks, digital attacks, the economic situation, and regulatory tightening: we are facing a perfect storm," he adds. A Unesco report released on Wednesday said healthy freedom of expression helped many other fundamental rights to flourish. Political transitions have oainly benefitted journalists from two countries in the Americas. In the south, in Brazil (92nd), the departure of President Jair Bolsonaro, who systematically attacked journalists and the media, has revived hopes of a return to normalcy in relations between the government and the press. The country moved up 18 places in the Index, a record for the continent. In the north, in the U.S. (down3 at 45), the Biden administration has also shown a better disposition towards the media than the previous administration. Nonetheless, the country's slight decline in the 2023 Index was due to the continuing economic difficulties of the media, the murders of two journalists (Jeff German and Dylan Lyons), and the end of efforts to support freedom of the press at the legislative level(the Press Act). Elsewhere on the continent, the polarisation and institutional instability that characterise several countries in the region have fostered hostility and distrust of the media. In Peru (down 33 at 110th), the successive political transitions of the past six years have fuelled a general distrust towards both the country's institutions and the media. In Ecuador (down 12 at 80th), the destabilisation of the country, due to the growing influence of criminal organisations, has also caused a significant deterioration of journalists's working conditions. In Mexico (down 1 at 128th), the extreme violence of the cartels and their frequent collusion with local officials and politicians, has continued journalism's destruction. The use of disinformation and propaganda, often associated with online verbal violence against journalists and the media, is being normalised and becoming part of political leaders' strategy in seeking greater control over the public narrative. Although historically well placed in the Index, Costa Rica (down 15 at 23rd), Uruguay (down 8 at 52nd) and Guyana (down 26 at 60th) have also seen an increase in online harassment. Among the worst ranked countries, references to stability and national security continue to be used by authoritarian governments to justify all sorts of abuses against the media. In Nicaragua (up 2 at 158th) independent journalism has been forced underground or into exile. In Cuba (up 1 at 172nd) a new penal code has allowed the government to legally continue to intimidate and persecute journalists critical of the regime.
No comments:
Post a Comment