The biggest declines, according to Reporters Without Borders’ annual report on freedom of the press, were in Peru (it ranked 110th, down 33 ranks), Senegal (104th, down 31 places), Haiti (99th, down 29 places) and Tunisia (121st, down 27 places).
Reporters Without Borders’ annual report on freedom of the press showed on Wednesday that Tunisia and Senegal were among the countries that fell in the ranking, while Norway remained in the lead and North Korea came in last place.
France moved up from 26th to 24th. Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of the NGO Defence-Journalists, said this “small gain” is explained “especially by the deteriorating situation elsewhere”.
The organization considered that the decline in press freedom in Tunisia, which is headed by Kais Saied, is due to “the increase in authoritarianism in the country and the intolerance of press criticism.” In Senegal, where the prospect of a third term for President Macky Sall raises opposition, Reporters Without Borders denounced the “significant deterioration in the security situation for journalists.”
The biggest declines were in Peru (110th, down 33 places), Senegal (104th, down 31 places), Haiti (99th, down 29 places) and Tunisia (121st, down 27 places). According to the 2023 edition of this classification, conditions for practicing journalism are poor in 70% of countries. The last three countries in the ranking were in Asia, with Vietnam ranked 178th, China 179th and North Korea (180th).
A videotape posted by “Reporters Without Borders” on Twitter showed the journalists’ criticism of Decree 54 issued on 09/13/2022, which is Decree related to combating crimes related to information and communication systems in Tunisia.
On 16/02/2023, the Tunisian president described the speech of those who “weep over freedom of expression” in Tunisia as “lies and falsities,” and said that it was an “attempt to strike at civil peace,” justifying his statement that “not a single newspaper was banned, a single program was banned, or any one was prosecuted.” journalist for his work.
On the other hand, the annual ranking showed that the situation of the press was in 52 countries out of 180 “good” or “relatively good” (four countries more than it was in 2022), a number that has not been very high since 2016.
The report, in its 21st edition, particularly pointed to the effects of disinformation. In two-thirds of the 180 countries included in the classification, the specialists involved in its development indicated that “political actors” were involved in “widespread disinformation or propaganda campaigns,” according to the organization.
Reporters Without Borders is concerned about the widespread spread of misinformation on social media, evidenced, for example, by false images generated by artificial intelligence.
