RSF: Global Press Freedom at 25-Year Low

Reporters Without Borders announced Thursday that global press freedom has reached its lowest level in 25 years, according to its annual World Press Freedom Index covering 180 countries and territories.

The Paris-based organization stated that for the first time since launching the index in 2002, more than half of the world's countries now rank in the "difficult" or "very serious" categories. The average score across all nations has never been lower, and the portion of the global population living in countries with "good" press freedom has dropped from 20 percent to less than 1 percent. Only seven Northern European countries, led by Norway in first place for the 10th consecutive year, achieved that rating. Eritrea ranked last for the third straight year.

The United States fell seven spots to 64th, shifting from a "fairly good" to a "problematic" situation following the 2024 presidential election. RSF pointed to attacks on journalists described as a systematic policy, the detention and expulsion of Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara while he reported on migrant arrests, and sharp reductions in funding for U.S. international broadcasting.

Russia placed 172nd, with RSF noting the...