PARIS (AP) – There has been a “dramatic deterioration” in press freedom since the pandemic began to spread around the world, Reporters Without Borders said in its annual report released on Tuesday.
The group’s new World Press Freedom Index, which assessed media situations in 180 countries, gave a clear 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 reasons to block journalists’ access to information, sources and field reports.”
This is especially happening in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, the media group said.
“Journalism is the best vaccine against misinformation,” said RSF Secretary General Christophe Deloire. “Unfortunately, its production and distribution are too often blocked by political, economic, technological and sometimes even cultural factors. In response to the virality of cross-border misinformation, on digital platforms and through social networks, journalism offers the most effective way to ensure that public debate is based on a diverse range of established facts. ”
Problems also arose from a decline in public confidence in journalism itself. The group said 59% of respondents in 28 countries said journalists were “deliberately trying to mislead the public by reporting information they know to be false”.