Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

World Press Freedom Index hits lowest point in 25 years as more than half of countries rated "difficult" or "very serious"

The World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders has recorded its lowest average score in 25 years, with more than half of 180 countries now in "difficult" or "very serious" categories. The proportion of global population living in countries with "good" press freedom has fallen from 20% in 2002 to less than 1%. The report cites expanding "restrictive legal arsenals," particularly national security laws, and warns journalism is being "increasingly criminalised" with political hostility combining with a difficult business model to "asphyxiate" established media.