UK drops to 40th place in global Press Freedom Index
State surveillance measures leave media freedom under threat, says Reporters Without Borders
Journalists in the UK are now less free to hold people in positions of power to account than their peers in South Africa, Chile or Lithuania, according to the latest Press Freedom Index.
Britain came 40th in the world in the latest rankings, which is published annually by free speech group Reporters Without Borders. It has dropped 12 places in the past five years.
This year's fall came after the government passed what Reporters Without Borders described as a series of "menacing measures", legalising some forms of state surveillance and proposing to criminalise journalists and whistleblowers as spies.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It said: "The rate at which democracies are approaching the tipping point is alarming for all those who understand that if media freedom is not secure, then none of the other freedoms can be guaranteed."
Nordic countries topped the list, with Norway ranked first, followed by Sweden and Finland. The US came in not far below the UK, taking 43rd place.
At the other end of the spectrum, Eritrea, which had been last in the list since 2007, went up one spot after allowing foreign media crews into the country, The Guardian reports.
North Korea, where merely listening to foreign media broadcasts can lead to sanctions, now takes the bottom place.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Is Daylight Saving Time good for the climate?
Under the Radar Scientists are split over the potential environmental benefits of the hotly contested time change
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Life in the post-truth era
Opinion The mainstream media can't hold back a tsunami of misinformation
By Theunis Bates Published
-
Magazine printables - November 8, 2024
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - November 8, 2024
By The Week US Published
-
Home Office worker accused of spiking mistress’s drink with abortion drug
Speed Read Darren Burke had failed to convince his girlfriend to terminate pregnancy
By The Week Staff Published
-
In hock to Moscow: exploring Germany’s woeful energy policy
Speed Read Don’t expect Berlin to wean itself off Russian gas any time soon
By The Week Staff Published
-
Were Covid restrictions dropped too soon?
Speed Read ‘Living with Covid’ is already proving problematic – just look at the travel chaos this week
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Inclusive Britain: a new strategy for tackling racism in the UK
Speed Read Government has revealed action plan setting out 74 steps that ministers will take
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sandy Hook families vs. Remington: a small victory over the gunmakers
Speed Read Last week the families settled a lawsuit for $73m against the manufacturer
By The Week Staff Published
-
Farmers vs. walkers: the battle over ‘Britain’s green and pleasant land’
Speed Read Updated Countryside Code tells farmers: ‘be nice, say hello, share the space’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Motherhood: why are we putting it off?
Speed Read Stats show around 50% of women in England and Wales now don’t have children by 30
By The Week Staff Published
-
Anti-Semitism in America: a case of double standards?
Speed Read Officials were strikingly reluctant to link Texas synagogue attack to anti-Semitism
By The Week Staff Published