The world’s journalists are working in the most hostile environment in a quarter century, according to the 2026 World Press Freedom Index released weeks ago by Reporters Without Borders to mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3.
The annual rankings of 180 countries and territories paint a grim picture of a global retreat from one of democracy’s foundational pillars.
For the first time since the index was launched in 2001, the average score across all 180 countries and territories has reached its lowest recorded level. Only a tiny fraction of the world’s population now lives in a country where press freedom is rated as “good” — down from 20 percent in 2002 to less than one percent today.
More than half the world’s countries now fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories for press freedom. The sharpest single-year deterioration was recorded in the legal indicator, a clear indication that journalism is increasingly being criminalized worldwide, according to RSF.
Reporters Without Borders usually goes by its French name — Reporters Sans Frontiers, or RSF.
The Philippines offered a cautionary tale in statistical interpretation. The country climbed two spots to 114th out of 180 nations, its highest ranking in 21 years, according to the Presidential Task Force on Media Security.
But analysts and press freedom advocates warn against reading this as genuine progress. The country’s actual score dropped from 49.57 to 46.79 — meaning the Philippines rose in rank not because things improved, but because the rest of the world deteriorated faster.
The Philippines’ scores dropped in four of the five indicators: political, economic, legal, and security. Only its sociocultural score improved. RSF continued to classify the Philippines as a “difficult” environment for journalism, and warned that the country is now only 6.79 points away from falling into the “very serious” red zone reserved for the most repressive media environments.
RSF identified “red-tagging” — a practice in which journalists are accused of being “subversive” or “terrorists” — as the authorities’ preferred means of silencing the press.
The case of Tacloban-based investigative journalist Frenchie Mae Cumpio, convicted after six years of detention on terrorism-related grounds that RSF has condemned as fabricated, has become a symbol of this repression.
In the United States, the news was no better. The country hit a historic all-time low, falling seven places to 64th globally. RSF North America Director Clayton Weimers said President Trump had been “pouring gasoline on the fire” of a decade-long decline in press freedom.
RSF cited sweeping layoffs in the U.S. media, the administration’s litigation against disfavored news outlets, attempts to dismantle public broadcasters NPR and PBS, and drastic cuts to the U.S. Agency for Global Media — leading to the closure or suspension of Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and Radio Free Asia.
Norway held the top spot for the tenth consecutive year, while Eritrea finished last for the third year running. Post-Assad Syria recorded the index’s most dramatic improvement, climbing 36 places after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
RSF Editorial Director Anne Bocandé warned that authoritarian states, complicit political powers, predatory economic actors, and under-regulated online platforms bear overwhelming responsibility for the global collapse in press freedom.
“The spread of authoritarianism isn’t inevitable,” she said, calling on democracies and their citizens to resist forces seeking to silence the press.
— Bryce McIntyre