PARIS (AP) – There has been a “dramatic deterioration” in press freedom since the pandemic began to break out around the world, Reporters Without Borders reported in its annual report released Tuesday.
The group’s new global press freedom index, which assessed press situations in 180 countries, made a stark picture and concluded that 73% of the world’s nations have serious problems with media freedoms. .
Countries are said to have used the coronavirus pandemic, which erupted in China in late 2019, “as a reason to block journalists’ access to information, sources and field reports.”
This is particularly the case in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, the media group said.
“Journalism is the best vaccine against misinformation,” said Christophe Deloire, RSF secretary general. “Unfortunately, their production and distribution are too often blocked by political, economic, technological and sometimes even cultural factors. In response to the virality of misinformation across borders, on digital platforms, and through social media, journalism provides the most effective means of ensuring that public debate is based on a diverse range of established facts.
Problems have also arisen from the fall in public confidence in journalism itself. The group said 59% of people surveyed in 28 countries said journalists “try to deliberately mislead the public by reporting that the information they know is false.”