World Press Freedom Index 2022

World Press Freedom Index 2022

News: On the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) (3rd May), the 20th edition of the World Press Freedom Index was published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

About:
• It has been published every year since 2002 by Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) or Reporters Without Borders.
• Based in Paris, RSF is an independent NGO with consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF).
• The Index ranks countries and regions according to the level of freedom available to journalists. However, it is not an indicator on the quality of journalism.
• The Index’s rankings are based on a score ranging from 0 to 100 that is assigned to each country or territory, with 100 being the best possible score (the highest possible level of press freedom) and 0 the worst.
• Each country or territory’s score is evaluated using five contextual indicators: political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety.

Highlights of Performance of the World:
• The report reveals a two-fold increase in ‘polarisation’ amplified by information chaos, that is, media polarisation fuelling divisions within countries, as well as polarisation between countries at the international level.
• The top 5 performers include Norway (1st), Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd), Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th).
• While North Korea remained at the bottom of the list, Russia was placed at 155th position.

Performance of India:
• India has fallen eight places from 142nd to 150th in the 2022 among the 180 countries.
• India’s position has been consistently falling in the index since 2016 when it was ranked 133

Reasons behind India’s poor performance:
• According to the index the media in India, among nations reputed to be more democratic, faces pressure from ‘increasingly authoritarian and/or nationalist governments’.
• Although the policy framework is protective in theory, it resorts to using defamation, sedition, contempt of court, and endangering national security against journalists critical of the government, branding them as ‘anti-national.’
• According to the report, India is also one of the world’s most dangerous countries for media-persons. Journalists are exposed to all kinds of physical violence including police violence, ambushes by political activists, and deadly reprisals by criminal groups or corrupt local officials.
• The situation in Kashmir remains ‘worrisome’ and reporters are often harassed by police and paramilitaries.