Developments such as the almost complete suppression of independent reporting in Russia as a result of the Ukraine war, mass arrests of media workers in Turkey and the further increase in aggression against reporters on the sidelines of demonstrations in Germany ensured that many countries slipped down the rankings. The sometimes significant declines and simultaneous rises of many other countries show how volatile the global situation is in a time of crises, anti-media agitation and disinformation.
“The aggressiveness towards media professionals continues to increase. Many governments and social groups are trying to prevent critical reporting. What is frightening is that the number of attacks in Germany has risen to a record high,” said RSF board spokesman Michael Rediske. “Democratic governments must support media in their own countries, increase pressure on authoritarian regimes and also strengthen media in exile. Disinformation must not have the upper hand.”
According to the RSF scale, the press freedom situation is “very serious” in 31 countries, “difficult” in 42, “observable problems” in 55, and “good” or “satisfactory” in 52. The working conditions for media professionals are problematic in around 70 percent of countries worldwide, similar to last year. Three countries slipped into the worst “very serious” category this year: Tajikistan, India and Turkey.
The biggest problem remains the security situation for journalists. They are attacked at demonstrations, die in armed conflicts, are deliberately murdered, arbitrarily arrested or sentenced to long prison sentences. The security situation is "very serious" in 36 of 180 countries - in war-torn countries such as Ukraine and Yemen as well as in the world's largest prisons for media workers, China, Myanmar and Iran. The security situation is “serious” in 33 others – from Peru to Israel, from Hong Kong to the USA.
Organized disinformation is also a growing problem in many countries: in 118 countries, i.e. two thirds of all countries, a majority of respondents stated that political actors in their country are involved in massive disinformation or propaganda campaigns.
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of five press freedom indicators
Reporters Without Borders' press freedom ranking compares the situation for journalists and media in 180 states and territories. The ranking is based on five indicators: In addition to security, these are political context, legal framework, economic context and socio-cultural context. These indicators are determined in each of the 180 states and territories examined - on the one hand on the basis of a qualitative study, for which selected journalists, scientists and human rights defenders in the respective countries answered a questionnaire with 123 questions, and on the other hand on the basis of quantitative surveys on attacks Journalists and media outlets whose numbers are included in the security indicator. Using a formula, a score between 0 and 100 is determined, where 0 is the worst possible result and 100 is the best possible result. The global ranking results from the sequence of points values of the individual countries.
For the 20th edition, the 2022 rankings were determined for the first time using a new method in order to better reflect the complexity of the conditions that influence press freedom worldwide. RSF developed the new methodology with a committee of experts from media and research. Due to the changed methodology, caution is advised when comparing the rankings overall and individual results before and after 2021. The 2023 press freedom rankings include data from January 1st to December 31st, 2022. More about the methodology here .
Germany: More physical attacks than ever before
Germany is in 21st place. The drop of five places can be explained primarily by the fact that other countries have moved ahead, some of which have improved significantly; Germany's score only worsened by 0.13 to 81.91 out of 100 compared to the previous year. The reason for this is the continuing rise in violence against journalists and the media: with 103 physical attacks, RSF documented the highest level since records began in 2015. There were 80 attacks in the calendar year 2021 , and 65 in 2020.
As RSF's current close-up of Germany shows, the majority of attacks, 87 out of 103 cases, took place in conspiracy ideology, anti-Semitic and extreme right-wing contexts. Although the corona pandemic subsided in 2022, demonstrations continued, sometimes on other topics, so that meetings remained the most dangerous places for the press in 2022. Two thirds of the attacks happened in East Germany (Saxony: 24, Berlin: 17, Thuringia: 13). A nationwide problem is impunity. Many of the affected journalists and reporters expressed dissatisfaction with the work of the police and judiciary. RSF therefore urgently calls for effective protection.
Germany also lost points in the “social context” category. Media professionals are experiencing increasing queer hostility, sexism and racism, especially when reporting on these topics.
The legal situation paints an ambivalent picture: RSF positively assesses the EU's Digital Services Act, which makes the large Internet companies responsible . The draft of the European Media Freedom Act, which is intended to protect Europe from disinformation, also goes in the right direction. The chat control planned by the EU is problematic. Intended to protect children, it would also enable almost complete monitoring of journalistic chats in Germany. There is also criticism of the amended BND law , against which RSF has lodged a constitutional complaint because it continues to offer foreign journalists less protection than domestic ones. also against Article 10 Law , which allows spying on media professionals using software such as the so-called State Trojan.
Media diversity in Germany was less threatened by mergers or closures of daily newspapers in 2022. However, the decisions of large publishing houses to discontinue magazines as well as scandals in public broadcasting had an impact.
Leaders and bottom performers
There are significant changes in the first and last three places in the rankings for the first time in several years. Norway takes first place for the seventh time in a row. It is the only country to score more than 90 out of 100 on all indicators. , a country outside Scandinavia follows Ireland In Ireland, pluralism in the media market has recently increased, a new defamation law protects media professionals from abusive lawsuits, and the government has agreed to implement the majority of a Commission's proposals for the future of the media. This means that Ireland pushes Denmark from second to third place. Sweden falls out of the top three to fourth place. With a constitutional amendment, foreign espionage was criminalized and added to the criminal code, which could be used against media professionals and whistleblowers. There were also some cases of police violence .
This year, the last places are exclusively occupied by regimes in Asia. In Vietnam (178, -4), the government has almost completed its hunt for independent reporters and commentators. Most recently it hit blogger Nguyen Lan Thang . In mid-April, a court in Hanoi sentenced him to six years in prison for “propaganda against the state . Imprisoned media workers are sometimes exposed to appalling prison conditions: they are mistreated, isolated and receive no medical care. As a result, blogger Do Cuong Dong in custody in August . In Vietnam, critical bloggers are often targeted by the authorities because they are the only sources of independently researched information. The traditional media follows the instructions of the Communist Party, which has been in power since 1975.
China (179, -4), one of the largest exporters of propaganda, has also deteriorated further No country has more journalists in prison because of their work; there are currently at least 100. More than ten of them could die in prison if they are not released immediately. With a concentration of power unprecedented since Mao Zedong, state and party leader Xi Jinping has secured a historic third term in office campaign against journalism that began ten years ago . Unsurprisingly, North Korea (180) remains in last place, with the government not allowing any independent reporting.
Europe: Safest region of the world with many up-and-comers
Europe is still the region of the world in which journalists can report most freely - it is the only region in which states with a “good situation” in terms of press freedom are represented. In addition, the majority of EU member states have improved their ranking, especially in the east of the EU. However, there are serious differences.
The Netherlands Peter R. de Vries last year . The rapid investigations in the case and a general decline in violence against media professionals after the Corona year of 2021 also had a positive impact. In Italy (41, +17), the security situation has also calmed down significantly in the third Corona year. The inauguration of the right-wing extremist Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is causing new uncertainty. She and some of her cabinet members recently sued media professionals . The mafia also poses a major threat. In the United Kingdom (26, -2), Wikileaks founder Julian Assange still in prison awaiting a decision in his extradition case. planned new national security law , which does not provide for any exceptions in favor of journalists, is causing uncertainty
Hungary's rise (72) by 13 places is partly due to shifts in other rankings, but can also be justified: the regulatory authority, which is under the influence of the government, was forced to renew the license of an independent radio station . Given the economic situation and the pressure from the EU institutions, Viktor Orbán's government has stopped fighting media independence for the time being in 2022. Poland's ranking of 57 (+9) should not obscure the fact that improvements are necessary, the legal and regulatory
The situation in Bulgaria (71, +20) has also improved. Although none of the measures suggested by RSF to promote press freedom were implemented there last year, there were no major violations either. There are also positive developments in Montenegro (39, +24), especially the acquittal of investigative reporter Jovo Martinovic after a seven-year legal nightmare. Less violence, a new protection mechanism and progress in the legal framework have also strengthened press freedom in Slovakia (17, +10).
Greece (107, +1) performed worst in an EU-wide comparison. were being monitored by the secret service using the Predator spyware as well as through conventional means . There were also cases of abusive lawsuits, police violence and extremist violence . The murder of police reporter Giorgos Karaivaz in April 2021 has still not been solved.
Turkey 165 ) has fallen by 16 places. Shortly before the elections on May 14th, which could seal the end of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 20-year rule, the president tightened the thumbscrews for the press again. New indictments, mass arrests and the “disinformation law” are just a few examples. to control reporting on the disaster and the authorities' response .
Eastern Europe and Central Asia: Russia and Ukraine in the shadow of war
Russia's (164, -9) position in the rankings worsened Since the beginning of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, almost all independent media have been banned, blocked and classified as so-called foreign agents. Media professionals face up to 15 years in prison for spreading alleged false news about the Russian armed forces. Around a thousand media professionals have left the country. The imprisonment of the American journalist Evan Gershkovich shows that foreign correspondents are no longer safe from criminal prosecution. Ukraine has improved (79, +27). This is primarily due to the reduction in the influence of oligarchs on journalism. However, in the security category, Ukraine ranks second to last in the world. The reason for this is Russian war crimes against media professionals in Ukraine.
Almost all Central Asian countries are slipping in the rankings. Uzbekistan (137, -4) worsened due to a lack of media reform and suppression of coverage of protests in the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan. Kazakhstan (134, -12) plummeted due to the bloody January 2022 protests and a relentless wave of violence against journalists. The situation of press freedom in strictly authoritarian Tajikistan (153, -1) is no longer classified as “difficult” but as “very serious”. The dramatic fall of Kyrgyzstan (122, -50) is noteworthy. The country has long been considered a democratic exception in the region with a comparatively diverse press landscape. But the authoritarian President Sadyr Japarov introduced several anti-press laws in 2022, had the video journalist Bolot Temirov deported and took legal action against the country's most important independent media. Traditionally at the bottom of the rankings is Turkmenistan (176, +1). In the strictly isolated country, President's son Serdar Buchamedow took over his father's office in March 2022 and further tightened the already rigid censorship and surveillance of the media.
Asia: Regimes are trying to suppress the last remnants of press freedom
The Asia-Pacific region continues to have some of the worst regimes for media professionals in the world. In Myanmar (173, +3), terror against journalists continues more than two years after the military coup in February 2021. As in the previous year, two journalists were killed by the junta in 2022. Among them is the photographer Aye Kyaw was seriously injured and died during a violent . Around 75 media professionals are in prison there because of their work; only in China (179, -4) are there more. Working conditions also remain dangerous in Afghanistan threaten and persecute media professionals , arrest reporters , force female journalists out of the media landscape , censor reports and search editorial offices .
In Hong Kong (140, +8), media professionals continue to feel the consequences of the so-called security law. After its adoption by Beijing in 2020, the Chinese special administrative region lost more places than any other country in the previous year. The legal framework in particular has continued to deteriorate. Hardly any case illustrates this as much as that of Jimmy Lai : The publisher has been in prison since December 2020 and is fighting against legal harassment . The 75-year-old faces life imprisonment . The former editors-in-chief of the now- closed news site Stand News are also on trial .
India continues to slip and is now ranked 161st (-11). Media takeovers by rich businessmen close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi threaten pluralism. At the same time, Modi has an army of supporters who track down reports critical of the government online and organize smear campaigns. This drives many journalists into self-censorship. Bangladesh (163, -1) and Cambodia (147, -5) are examples of how governments take action against critical voices in the run-up to elections. In February the Bangladesh government closed the main opposition newspaper Dainik Dinkal . Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the closure of Voice of Democracy , one of the last independent media outlets in the country.
A democratic change of government can have a positive impact on press freedom, which explains why Australia (27, +12) and Malaysia (73, +40) climb the rankings. In the top places, functioning democracies such as Taiwan (35, +3), Samoa (19, +26) and New Zealand (13, -2) have maintained or even expanded their status as regional role models when it comes to press freedom.
Middle East and North Africa: Authoritarian regimes, armed conflicts, red lines
The Middle East and North Africa region remains the region with the most countries where RSF classifies the press freedom situation as “very serious”. In view of authoritarian regimes, armed conflicts and red lines, freedom of reporting is severely restricted in over half of the countries in the region.
The bottom is Iran (177, +1). Since the violent death of the Kurdish student Jina Mahsa Amini in police violence, the regime has further intensified the persecution of journalists and imprisoned over 70 media workers . Many are free again, but under strict conditions that amount to a professional ban . Like Iran, Saudi Arabia (170, -4) has been in the bottom group of press freedom rankings for many years. The powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, has put media professionals behind bars for many years, bans them from leaving the country or even has them strictly monitored abroad. The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi will mark the fifth anniversary in 2023 - it is obvious that MBS does not have to fear any prosecution.
The Gulf monarchies also monitor and censor the media, sometimes with very sophisticated technical means , such as the United Arab Emirates (145, -7). One of the few countries in the region to improve its ranking is Qatar (105, +14). Not wanting to damage the country's desired image as a modern, competent host of the men's World Cup, authorities relaxed some restrictions. But taboos in reporting .
There is draconian censorship in Egypt (166, +2). The military dictatorship continually ignores its own promises of reform and instead continues to put journalists in prison . Syria (175, -4) remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world . The various parties to the war and conflict hold the most media professionals in the world hostage there, followed by Yemen (168, +1) and Iraq (167, +5).
Israel is ranked 97th (-11). Shirin Abu Akle , who was allegedly killed by a bullet from an Israeli soldier, unpunished , as have other attacks by Israeli security forces on Palestinian media workers . the Palestinian Territories (156, +14) have deteriorated, especially in the security category, but are moving up the rankings primarily due to positive developments in the economic environment.
America: More media workers killed than anywhere else in the world
The American double continent remains a dangerous region for media professionals. In 2022, almost half of all journalists killed worldwide died there. Brazil (92) has risen significantly by 18 places with the departure of President Jair Bolsonaro, but the security situation remains extremely precarious. The violence culminated in three murders of media workers in 2022, including Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira , who were on a research trip in the Amazon region. Disinformation and hate campaigns against media professionals reached unprecedented levels. Under Bolsonaro's successor Lula da Silva, a national observatory for violence against journalists was created just a few weeks after taking office, of which RSF is also a member . In the USA (45, -3), the Biden government's declared goodwill to make press freedom a priority again after the Trump era is being counteracted by a continued high willingness to use violence against media professionals. Around 30 physical attacks and a dozen arrests had a negative impact on the ranking. Police reporter Jeff German murdered in Las Vegas in September 2022, and local television reporter Dylan Lyons shot while reporting from a crime scene in February 2023.
In Mexico (128, -1), at least eleven media workers were killed because of their work , more than in any other country in the world. In addition, 28 journalists are believed to have disappeared , many of them for years - also a sad world record. In Haiti (99, -29), the already precarious situation for journalists has deteriorated dramatically . Six journalists were murdered there in 2022, and the threat from criminal gangs is omnipresent in parts of the country. Peru (110) falls 33 places, more than any other country in the region. including many media workers , in the nationwide protests following the overthrow of former President Pedro Castillo in December 2022. Cuba (172, +1) occupies last place on the American double continent. independent media are not permitted there, and courageous citizen journalists are arbitrarily harassed by the authorities.
No country on the continent now falls into the “good location” category after Costa Rica (23, -15) slipped into the second best category. The Central American country's new president, Rodrigo Chaves, has distinguished himself by threatening and intimidating the media .
Sub-Saharan Africa: Danger of news-free zones
Even though there have been significant improvements in some African countries - for example, Botswana (65) has risen by 30 places - working conditions in general in sub-Saharan Africa have become significantly more difficult. In almost 40 percent of all countries, the situation with press freedom can be described as poor, compared to 33 percent last year. Senegal 104 ) loses 31 places, the security situation for media workers has deteriorated significantly and two journalists have been imprisoned .
Disinformation continues to increase in sub-Saharan Africa - in several countries governments are abusing the media as propaganda tools. The military governments in Mali (113, -2) and Burkina Faso (58, -17), which do not hide their ties to the private Russian mercenary group Wagner, have indefinitely suspended expelled foreign reporters . In the Central African Republic (98, +3) much content from the Russian state media RT and Sputnik rebroadcast. This is how pro-Russian narratives are spreading across parts of the continent.
The entire Sahel region is in danger of becoming a news-free zone . Between September 2022 and January 2023, five journalists were murdered in sub-Saharan Africa, including Martinez Zogo in Cameroon (138, -20). His death was as unexplained as that of John Williams Ntwali in Rwanda (131, +5). In Sudan (148, +3), the legal and economic situation in particular was very bad last year. The recent conflict in Sudan is likely to have a lasting impact on next year's ranking. Eritrea (174, +5), which continues to be ruled with a hard hand Isaias Afwerki, remains at the bottom in sub-Saharan Africa
Source: Reporters Without Borders
Also read: Distrust of established media
If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:
📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.
Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!
* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

