World Press Freedom Index 2023

NEWS: India’s rank on World Press Freedom Index drops to 161 out of 180 countries

https://scroll.in/latest/1048455/indias-rank-on-world-press-freedom-index-drops-to-161-out-of-180-countries#:~:text=India%20has%20slid%20from%2011,Borders%20said%20in%20a%20report.&text=India’s%20ranking%20in%20the%20World,Sans%20Fronti%C3%A8res%20said%20on%20Tuesday.

World Press Freedom Index

• It has been published every year since 2002 by Reporters Without Borders or Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF).
• RSF is an independent NGO based in Paris that has consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF).
• OIF is a 54 french speaking nations collective.
• The report ranks 180 countries based on their level of press freedom, taking into account factors such as censorship, media independence, and the safety of journalists. However, it is not an indicator on the quality of journalism.
• Scoring Criteria:
  • score ranging from 0 to 100 
  • with 100 being the best possible score (the highest possible level of press freedom) and 0 the worst.

Evaluation Criteria:- five contextual indicators: 

1.   political context, 
2.  legal framework, 
3.  economic context, 
4. socio-cultural context and 
5.  safety.

Key Highlights of the World Press Freedom Index 2023 :-

• Top Performers:
  • Norway, Ireland and Denmark occupied the top three positions.
• Worst Performers:
  • Vietnam, China and North Korea were at the bottom on the list.
• India’s Neighbours:
  • Sri Lanka -135 (improved from 142 last year)
  • Pakistan – 150^th position.
  • The situation has gone from ‘problematic’ to ‘very bad’ in three other countries: Tajikistan (down 1 at 153^rd), India (down 11 at 161^st) and Turkey (down 16 at 165^th).

 India’s Performance :

• India’s position has been consistently falling in the index since 2016 when it was ranked 133.
• The reasons behind the fall in ranking is the increased violence against journalists and a politically partisan media.
• The acquisition of media outlets by oligarchs who maintain close ties with political leaders.
• The organisation asserts that many journalists in India are forced to censor themselves due to extreme pressure.

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