Press freedom has reached its lowest point in the history of the RSF Index

Leading Global Media Watchdog “Reporters Without Borders” message for RMNP World Press Freedom Day Roundtable May 3,2026

For the first time in 25 years, more than half of the world’s population now lives in a country where practising journalism is either difficult, or nearly impossible. This is not only a crisis for journalists. It is a crisis for every citizen’s right to be informed.

Today, reporting the news has never been more complex, more dangerous, or more exposed to pressure. Journalists continue to face violence, imprisonment and exile. But the 2026 Index highlights another major threat: the very laws that should protect journalism are increasingly being weakened.

Of the five indicators measured by RSF, the legal indicator has seen the sharpest decline this year. This is a clear sign that the criminalisation of journalism is spreading.

Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, national security, anti-terrorism and defence secrecy laws have expanded across the world. Today, these laws are too often used not to protect the public, but to prosecute journalists, block investigations, and restrict access to information. At the same time, abusive lawsuits, known as SLAPPs, are increasingly being used to intimidate reporters and drain their resources.

This trend is particularly alarming in the Asia-Pacific region. In 21 of the 32 countries assessed, press freedom is classified as either “difficult” or “very serious.” It is one of the most repressive regions in the world, and the situation continues to deteriorate. Across Asia, journalists are being targeted through abusive charges, draconian laws and politically motivated prosecutions. The result is clear: the space for independent journalism is shrinking.

Conflict is another major factor in the decline of press freedom in other countries. This is especially true in Palestine, where more than 220 journalists have been killed by the Israeli army since the start of the war in Gaza. This represents one of the deadliest periods for journalists ever recorded by RSF.

Elsewhere, regime changes and authoritarian crackdowns are also making journalism more difficult and more dangerous.

Over the years, the tactics used to undermine press freedom have evolved. Journalists are still being killed. They are still being jailed. But journalism itself is now under attack, through economic pressure, legal harassment, and political rhetoric that treats reporters as enemies.

But when journalists are silenced, societies are left in the dark.

And there can be no freedom without press freedom.”