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Saturday, February 14th, 2015

Drastic decline in media freedom worldwide

Author:    
Source:     International The News (Pakistan)
Publication Date:     Friday, February 13, 2015
Link: Drastic decline in media freedom worldwide
Stephan:   Except in those societies like Finland, Norway, Denmark, that have made national wellness a social and governmental priority, press freedom is under varying degrees of attack, as this report describes. I would particularly ask you to note where the U.S. places. One of the many lies we tell ourselves, and that the media and politicians parrot endlessly is how we lead the world with the freedom of our press. It is just that a lie. In fact we are 49th, three steps lower than we were in 2013, in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index. Our media are increasingly unfree and dominated by corporate interests. Ask yourself: Why did Stephan have to go to the non-American press to find this story? Why isn't this a matter of national debate?
press-freedom

Credit: Tokyotimes.com

PARIS – Media freedom suffered a “drastic decline” worldwide last year in part because of extremist groups such as Islamic State and Boko Haram, the watchdog group Reporters Without Borders said in its annual evaluation released Thursday.

“There has been an overall deterioration linked to very different factors, with information wars, and action by non-state groups acting like news despots,” the head of the Paris-based group, Christophe Deloire, told AFP.

Pakistan and India stand at the 159tth and 136th position out of the 180 countries evaluated.

The Reporters Without Borders 2015 World Press Freedom Index stated that there was an eight percent increase in violations of freedom of information in 180 countries in 2014 compared to the 2013, according to its statistically weighted calculation.

All parties in conflicts raging in the Middle East and Ukraine were waging “a fearsome information war” where media personnel were directly targeted to be killed, captured or pressured to relay propaganda, it said.

The Islamic State group active in Syria and Iraq, Boko Haram in northern Nigeria and Cameroon, and […]

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