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The Press Freedom Index ranking for 2019 was released last week and there were a number of notable changes from last year’s edition.
The Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RWB), is an infographic, released annually, which assesses the restrictions the government places on media organisations. It also takes into consideration the number of journalist deaths and imprisonments due to increased government scrutiny and legislation.
The Index presents the UK as still being one of the worst countries in Western Europe for Press Freedom, at 33rd position, despite a seven place rise from last year’s ranking. Italy is the only country in Western Europe ranked lower than the UK.
The UK’s reported lack of press freedom comes in spite of the appointment of Amal Cloomy as special envoy on media freedom, by Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt. Former Culture Secretary, John Whittingdale expressed his delight at UK’s climb in the rankings at an event to launch the Index, but admitted “we should be a lot higher than we are”.
The Extinction Rebellion protests which took place in London, last week, provoked the police and Tfl’s suspension of the wi-fi connection at major tube stations. This was to prevent activists from posting the disruption caused by their protests, to social media.
This is just one of the ways in which the government have attempted to introduce tougher press regulation in the UK. Further evidence includes the governments’ campaign to limit encryption on messaging services such as WhatsApp, and Labour and Conservative’s restriction on journalists’ access to politicians during the 2017 general elections.
Norway remains in first place for the third consecutive year and at the opposite end of the table, Turkmenistan has replaced North Korea in last place.
The US has dropped by three places to 48thposition, since the hostile climate towards journalists. RWB reported a record high for the numbers of death threats directed towards US journalists.
Ghana is no longer Africa’s highest-ranked country in the Index, dropping to third in Africa and from 23rdto 27thin the world. This comes after the murder of investigative journalist, Ahmed Suale. A number of Ghanaian investigative journalists investigating corruption within the Ghanaian football were forced to go into hiding over death threats in July 2018, according to RWB.
In a separate article, Reporters Sans Frontières, reported that a total of 80 journalists were killed this year, 348 are currently in prison and 60 are being held hostage.
The report suggests a global deterioration in global political freedom.