BERLIN: An annual index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) highlighted the threat to press freedom posed by fake content, reported news agency dpa.
According to the 2023 World Press Freedom Index, published on Wednesday, the environment for journalism is “very serious” in 31 countries, “difficult” in 42, “problematic” in 55 and “good” or “satisfactory” in 52 countries.
“The World Press Freedom Index shows enormous volatility in situations, with major rises and falls and unprecedented changes, such as Brazil’s 18-place rise and Senegal’s 31-place fall,” said RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire.
“This instability is the result of increased aggressiveness on the part of the authorities in many countries and growing animosity towards journalists on social media and in the physical world.
“The volatility is also the consequence of growth in the fake content industry, which produces and distributes disinformation and provides the tools for manufacturing it.”
According to the index, in two thirds of the 180 countries evaluated, most respondents said that political actors in their countries were often or systematically involved in massive disinformation campaigns.
Artificial intelligence and Twitter owner Elon Musk were “pushing an arbitrary, payment-based approach to information to the extreme” and were wreaking further havoc.
Norway topped the list for the seventh year running, followed by Ireland and Denmark. Three Asian countries, meanwhile, occupied the bottom of the list, with North Korea last, China one place above it and Vietnam in 178th place.
Germany fell for the third straight year and is now ranked 21st amid a high number of cases of arrests and violence against journalists, RSF said.
“With 103 physical attacks, RSF has documented the highest level since records began in 2015,” the organisation’s branch here said on Wednesday. – BERNAMA-dpa
