According to a report from Reporters Without Borders, a group that assesses the conditions for journalism worldwide, press freedom in India has gone from “problematic” to “very bad,” and the nation has dropped 11 places in the World Press Freedom Index.
The World Press Freedom Index’s country rankings are not accepted by the Indian government.
The report was released on Wednesday, which is recognised worldwide as World Press Freedom Day. “The situation has gone from ‘problematic’ to’very bad’ in three other countries: Tajikistan (down 1 at 153rd), India (down 11 at 161st), and Turkey (down 16 at 165th),” said the report. 180 nations are ranked in the index.
The information and broadcasting ministry was contacted by the news agency for comment, but no response was received right away. In a written response to a query in Parliament in March, communication and broadcasting minister Anurag Thakur stated that the Indian government disagrees with the World Press Freedom Index country rankings.
The government, he continued, also disagrees with the conclusions drawn by the index, noting its shoddy methodology, small sample size, and scant or no weight given to democratic principles.
Undoubtedly, some concerns about the methodology are raised by the relative rankings of some nations, such as Pakistan, which moved up seven ranks to be ranked 150, and Afghanistan, which was ranked 152.
According to the most recent study, “media takeovers by oligarchs close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi have jeopardised pluralism in India, while the Erdogan administration in Turkey has increased its persecution of journalists ahead of elections scheduled for May 14.”
The purchase of NDTV, a TV station now owned by the Adani Group, is being discussed.
Norway won the top spot on the Index for the seventh consecutive year. Unusually, a non-Nordic nation, notably Ireland, is ranked second, ahead of Denmark, which fell one position to third. The Netherlands, which was ranked sixth before crime reporter Peter R. de Vries was killed, has moved up 22 spots, regaining its previous ranking from 2021, according to the study.
According to the report, of the 180 countries and territories analysed – the situation is “very serious” in 31 countries, “difficult” in 42, “problematic” in 55, and “good” or “satisfactory” in 52 countries.
“In other words, the environment for journalism is “bad” in seven out of 10 countries, and satisfactory in only three out of ten,” it noted. “The World Press Freedom Index shows enormous volatility in situations, with major rises and falls and unprecedented changes, such as Brazil’s 18-place rise and Senegal’s 31-place fall. This instability is the result of increased aggressiveness on the part of the authorities in many countries and growing animosity towards journalists on social media and in the physical world. The volatility is also the consequence of growth in the fake content industry, which produces and distributes disinformation and provides the tools for manufacturing it,” Christophe Deloire, RSF Secretary-General said in the report.
The remaining three spots were taken by Asian nations, it was also mentioned. Vietnam (178th), which has nearly finished its hunt for independent reporters and commentators, China (down 4 places at 179th), the world’s largest jailer of journalists and one of the biggest exporters of propaganda content, and, to no great surprise, North Korea (180th), were the final three spots, according to the report.
