World Press Freedom Index 2022
Recently the ‘World Press Freedom Index 2022’ has been released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
India has been ranked 150th in this report’s list of 180 countries. Whereas last year it was 142th.
Key Findings:
- The top ranked countries in this report are: Norway (1st), Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd)
- North Korea (lowest) and Russia were ranked 155th among the worst-hit countries.
- Polarization: The report shows that there has been a two-fold increase in “polarization” due to information chaos. Polarization by the media is fueling divisions within countries, as well as increasing polarization between countries internationally.
With reference to India:
- According to the report, India is “one of the world’s most dangerous countries for the media”, and journalists are victims of all forms of physical violence.
- India’s rank in the index has been falling continuously since 2016. India was ranked 133 in 2016.
Position of India’s neighbors in the index: Nepal (76th), Pakistan (157th), Sri Lanka (146th), Bangladesh (162nd) and China (175th).
Government does not agree with the findings of the report: The reasons cited by the government are: “Very small sample size, little or no importance to the fundamentals of democracy, adoption of questionable and non-transparent methodology”.
Source – The Hindu
