By: Staff Writer
May 5, 2023
Fake news and online disinformation along with cyber bullying and cyber violence are plaguing the region as it sinks lower and lower on the World Press Freedom Index, 2023 index.
The purpose of the World Press Freedom Index is to compare the level of freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries and territories. The definition of press freedom used by the Reporters without Borders (RSF) and its panel of experts to compile the Index is the following: “Press freedom is defined as the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal, and social interference and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.
On the basis of this definition, the press freedom questionnaire and map are broken down into five distinct categories or indicators (political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety).
The report noted that America no longer has any country coloured green on the press freedom map. Costa Rica (down 15 at 23rd) was the last country in the region to have a situation classified as “good”, but its classification has changed following a five-place fall due to a sharp decline in its political score (down 15.68 points), and it is now ranked lower than Canada (up 4 at 15th). Mexico (128th) has fallen another place this year and now has the world’s most disappeared journalists (28 in the past 20 years). Cuba (172nd), where censorship has been stepped up again and where the press is still a state monopoly, continues to have the region’s lowest ranking, as it did in 2022.
Haiti too fell considerably as a result of its current political and social climate. Haiti’s journalists suffer from a cruel lack of financial resources, an absence of institutional support and difficulty accessing information. For the past two years, they have also been the target of gangs, victims of kidnapping or murdered with complete impunity.
The report also said: “Radio is by far Haiti’s most widely followed mass medium. The country has more than 700 radio and TV stations, but only half operate legally, with a licence from Conatel, the agency that regulates communications. The privately owned media, which are heavily influenced by the interests of their owners, tend to censor themselves. Haiti’s national radio and TV broadcaster, RTNH, is the primary state media outlet.
“Haiti has been embroiled in a profound political and social crisis for decades, one that took a dramatic new turn when Jovenel Moïse, a president who had been becoming increasingly authoritarian in response to opposition from many quarters, was assassinated in July 2021, opening the way to an era of even greater lawlessness and uncertainty.”
Political instability is the primary reason behind a growing trend of fake news and attacks on the established media, in addition to the growing rise of cyber bullying and online attacks against women.
The use of disinformation and propaganda, often associated with online verbal violence against journalists and the media, is being normalised and becoming an integral part of political leaders’ strategy in seeking greater control over the public narrative. Although historically well placed in the World Press Freedom Index, Costa Rica reflects this trend’s impact on journalism. Canada (up 4 at 15th) and Guyana (down 26 at 60th) have also seen an increase in online harassment, particularly of women journalists.