Threats to Information
Since 2002, the NGO Reporters without Borders has been publishing an annual Press Freedom Index, its main advocacy tool in defending freedom of information. This Index ranks the level of freedom available to journalists in 180 countries, according to a set of criteria essential to maintaining that freedom (pluralism and media independence, the legislative framework, transparency, self-censorship, safety of journalists, etc.). It is compiled from the responses of experts in each country to a questionnaire (in 20 languages) focusing on these criteria, combined with quantitative data on the violence and abuses suffered by journalists during the period evaluated. Together, these form the basis for calculating the index and, since 2013, an annual score has been awarded to each state (from 0 – the best – to 100 – the worst), enabling national, regional, and global developments to be monitored over time. The 2018 Index reveals further deterioration in the working climate and conditions of journalists and the threat that this poses for democracy. Added to hostility toward non-compliant media, which is brought to bear and encouraged by authoritarian regimes, come pressure, condemnations, and verbal violence on the part of political entrepreneurs and leaders, even in democratic regimes (media bashing). This is widely spread over social networks, and is notable both in Europe and the United States.
Degree of freedom of the press according to Reporters without Borders, 2018
Comment: The series of three maps comes from reports by Reporters without Borders, an NGO that defends press freedom and the protection of sources and journalists. These reports, published annually since 2002 and compiled from investigations, confirm that hostility towards journalists has intensified in many countries of the world. The first map shows that in over a third of countries the situation is difficult or very serious; the second calculates the number of journalists and contributors killed (1,400 since 2001), mainly in conflict zones (291 in Iraq, 228 in Syria) but also in regions where there are extreme social and political tensions (Mexico, Philippines); the third shows that the areas where journalists are imprisoned coincides with the areas where there are authoritarian states which censure them (China, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, etc.).
- NGO > Nongovernmental Organization
- Use of this expression became more widespread following its inclusion in Article 71 of the United Nations Charter. NGOs do not have an international legal status and the acronym is used in different contexts to refer to very different kinds of actors. It generally designates associations formed by individuals over the long term in relation to not-for-profit goals, often linked to values and beliefs (ideological, humanist, ecological, religious, etc.) rather than financial interests. Active on a wide range of issues at both the local and global levels, NGOs now number tens of thousands, but vary greatly in the scale of their budgets, staff and development.
- democracy > Democracy
- A political system based on sovereignty of the people, in which the right to govern depends on acceptance by the people. Inspired by the model set up in Ancient Greece and the individual liberties promoted by liberalism, democracy today is mainly representative and based on the principle of citizens’ equality (elections by universal suffrage). It cannot be dissociated from respect for fundamental human rights, which include freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom of information, and so on. While it has gradually become universalized and is tending to become the norm, it does not refer to a single model since it always depends on the social and cultural context in which it is implemented, which varies from one place to another and according to time period.
- entrepreneurs > Political entrepreneur
- An entrepreneur, as defined by Max Weber, manages an organized group that has an administrative management and pursues a specific goal. An identity or religious entrepreneur, then, is an actor who mobilizes symbols of identity or religion for the benefit of their political, social or economic capital.