World press freedom hits new low as authoritarianism rises

With three in four countries "problematic" or worse, the 2026 World Press Freedom Index offers a bleak picture for global media.

The conditions for press freedom are rated "satisfactory" in only a few dozen countries.

The ability of journalists to work safely and independently is under threat globally, according to the 2026 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) .

The NGO, which has reported on the state of worldwide journalism annually since 2002, defines press freedom as "the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal, and social interference and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety."
RSF now classifies the press freedom environment as "problematic" or worse in about three-fourths of the 180 countries evaluated.

Conditions for media are classified as "difficult" to "very serious" in over half of the countries, RSF found.

In 2013, conditions in fewer than one-third of countries were classified as "difficult" to "very serious." The press freedom environment in seven-tenths was classified as "problematic" or worse.

Though there's a global downward trend, press freedom varies by region.

Generally, the freest countries — including the top four: Norway, Estonia, the Netherlands and Denmark — can be found in Europe, while journalists in parts of Africa and Asia face the harshest conditions.

Discrepancies within regions can also be pronounced.

In Europe, for example, there's a strong divide between the Southern and Eastern regions, where challenges to press freedom are higher, and the Northern and Western regions, where countries are generally ranked as "satisfactory" to "good." Similarly, journalists in North Africa are, in general, less free than their counterparts in the Southern region of the continent.

Poland and Slovakia take different paths
One example of an interregional divide can be found in the heart of Europe: The press in Poland has become freer, while hostility toward the media is growing in Slovakia .

Both countries are classified as "satisfactory," but they are trending in different directions.

According to RSF, the turning point for Poland was a change in government.

After the Law and Justice party (PiS) , which opposed abortion and LGBTQ+ rights and pushed anti-migration policies, was ousted from power in late 2023 , the new government toned down verbal attacks and judicial actions against the press.

An election that year also served as a turning point in Slovakia, where, after years in the opposition, Robert Fico began his fourth term as prime minister in 2023.

"He has a long career behind him, and it was always his narrative that journalists are his enemy," said Lukas Diko, the editor-in-chief of the Investigative Center of Jan Kuciak (ICJK), an independent news organization named after a journalist murdered during Fico's third term .

Kuciak had been investigating connections between organized crime groups and businesses in Slovakia that were linked to members of Fico's ruling party.

Though Kuciak's killing led to a wave of anti-corruption protests that helped bring down Fico's government in 2018, Diko said attacks on the press had escalated since the prime minister returned to office.

"It's really without any rules," he said.

Diko said the fear caused by the murder of a young journalist and the hostile official rhetoric had discouraged people from careers in reporting.

"Not many young people want to become journalists anymore," he said.

"The murder of Kuciak is still something that tells them not to do it — but they also don't want to be verbally attacked on a daily basis."
Attacks on press as a political strategy
Argentina is another country that has sharply dropped in the index.

Media advocates say anti-press smear campaigns waged by President Javier Milei, whose hard-right policies favor financial freedoms above all others, have created a hostile climate for journalists.

He often uses social media to attack critics, and claims that journalists are "not hated enough."
"When Milei insults a journalist, he is not doing that as Milei, the economist, or Milei, an ordinary citizen," said Fernando Stanich, the president of the Argentine press forum FOPEA, an organization that defends freedom of expression and promotes quality journalism.

"He is doing that as the main representative of the Argentinian state.

"
Stanich said previous Argentine governments had been hostile to the press — the Peronist Cristina Kirchner had frequently sparred with the media as president from 2007 to 2015 — but, according to FOPEA's monitoring, the current level of verbal attacks on journalists is unprecedented.

Like Argentina's Milei and Slovakia's Fico, US President Donald Trump has insulted and threatened the press since his first campaign for office in 2016.

Coincidentally, the United States has also seen a significant drop in its standing in the World Press Freedom Ranking, along with other countries where leaders follow the same playbook — such as El Salvador .

Argentina, Slovakia and the United States show how quickly countries considered relatively stable and democratic can become hostile to journalists.

The press has never been free in Eritrea, China, North Korea and Iran, which have long been ruled by authoritarian regimes that silence independent reporting.

According to the RSF report, "armed conflict is the primary reason for [the] decline in press freedom" in countries such as Iraq, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen.

Since Israel launched its war in Gaza following the Hamas-led terror attacks on October 7, 2023, more than 220 journalists have been killed by the Israeli army, including at least 70 while working, the report states.

Networks fight threats to press freedom
Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova, a professor in the Department of Communication and Media at the University of Liverpool, said societal threats to press freedom fell into three main categories .

The use of political structures to intimidate or harm journalists, including verbal attacks by public officials and threats of violence and incarceration, is the most obvious indicator of press freedom in decline.

But societal and economic factors, such as the targeting of journalists for their gender, race or sexual orientation and the pressures of a precarious media labor market, can also curtail press freedoms.

"Knowing that there is somebody you can rely on for support is very important," Slavtcheva-Petkova said.

"When journalists don't have that, when they don't know whom to turn to for help ...

then they feel that what they're experiencing might even be their own fault."
With most journalists worldwide now working in conditions that are problematic at best, as the 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index demonstrates, such networks are likely to take on increased importance in the coming years — both within countries and internationally.

Only 17 countries improved their press freedom scores from 2013 to 2026; conditions in 163 got worse.

South Africa is one example of a country with robust networks to fight for press freedom.

The country has maintained its "satisfactory" rating since 2013, resulting in a steady climb in the rankings as other nations' scores have slipped.

Glenda Daniels, a journalist and professor of media studies at Wits University in Johannesburg, said a strong civil society had helped South Africa maintain its status as press freedom declines globally.

Despite challenges common to journalists across the world — including biases against and threats to women in the media and a shrinking labor market — Daniels said strong networks had helped preserve press freedom in South Africa.

Daniels herself serves as secretary-general of the South African National Editors’ Forum, which defends journalists' right to conduct their work.

"SANEF is loud and noisy," she said.

"It makes a difference to have a strong civil society approach, advocacy and activism."
Edited by: Gianna Grün and Milan Gagnon
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