Media watchdog RSF finds sharp decline in worldwide journalism over the years

PARIS: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) annual report has revealed that journalism was blocked in at least 130 countries even partly among the 180 countries RSF had surveyed.

In a statement, RSF secretary general Christophe Deloire said: "Journalism is the vaccine against disinformation. Unfortunately, its production and distribution are too often blocked by political, economic, technological and, sometimes, even cultural factors."

In RSF ranking where countries like Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Costa Rica were ranked the highest, on the other hand, Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, China, and Djibouti ranked worst overall.

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The Middle East and North Africa region marked as the most repressive for journalists and reportedly the "most dangerous" and "toughest" for journalists.

The global level of media freedom has remained relatively stable for the past year but has declined by 12 per cent since the ranking was first launched in 2013, according to the RSF report.

RSF also noted that the part of the issue is a decline of journalistic credibility, which is exacerbated by political polarisation and online disinformation.

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