Press freedom has reached its lowest level in a quarter of a century, Reporters Without Borders warned on Thursday, pointing to a general deterioration, from the United States where Donald Trump's attacks are "systematic" to Saudi Arabia which executed a journalist in 2025.

"For the first time in the history" of this annual ranking created in 2002, "more than half of the world's countries (94) are in a 'difficult' or 'very serious' situation, whereas they were only a tiny minority (13.7%) in 2002," writes RSF, which has five levels on its scale, from "very serious" to "good".

At the same time, the percentage of the population living in a country where the press freedom situation is "good" has plummeted from 20% to "less than 1%".

Only seven northern European countries, with Norway at the top, fall into this category. France ranks 25th ("a rather good situation").

"In 25 years, the average score of all the countries studied has never been so low," the organization adds.

The United States, in a "problematic situation," has fallen seven places to 64th, between Botswana and Panama. Beyond the Republican president's attacks on the press—"a systematic practice"—this has also resulted in the detention and subsequent deportation of Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara, who denounced the arrests of migrants in the United States, and the drastic reduction in funding for American international broadcasting.

"Multiple obstacles"

"Attacks against journalists are changing. There are still journalists murdered, still journalists in prison, but the pressures are also economic, political, legal," Anne Bocandé, editorial director of RSF, told AFP.

While the decline can be explained by armed conflicts, the organization also points to the hardening of political regimes in recent years.

RSF highlights the dramatic falls of El Salvador (143rd), which has lost 105 places since 2014 and the launch of a war against the mara criminal gangs, or of Georgia (135th), which has fallen 75 places since 2020 due to an "acceleration of repression".

The biggest drop in 2026 is attributed to Niger (120th, -37 places), a symbol of "the deterioration of press freedom in the Sahel for several years", between "attacks by armed groups and (the) juntas in power", writes RSF.

"Some countries were beacons of press freedom, but it has deteriorated significantly with the arrival of military regimes, such as in Mali (121st) or Burkina Faso (110th)," adds Anne Bocandé.

Saudi Arabia (176th, -14 places), where columnist Turki al-Jasser was executed in June by the State, "a unique event in the world", is alongside Russia, Iran and China at the very end of the ranking, closed by Eritrea (180th).

In contrast, Syria (141st) jumped 36 places after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Gag orders

Of the five RSF measurement criteria, the legal framework indicator deteriorated the most in 2025.

"National security laws, such as those against terrorism or to protect defense secrets, are increasingly restricting the scope of journalism. Russia is a champion in this area, but the impact is also being felt even in democracies," emphasizes Anne Bocandé.

Another weapon is that of "SLAPP suits", in other words legal proceedings for defamation, economic disparagement or the dissemination of false news, which aim to intimidate journalists.

A global phenomenon, illustrated in Guatemala by the case of El Periodico founder José Rubén Zamora, sentenced to several years in prison after his investigations into political corruption. But Reporters Without Borders (RSF) also denounced this trend in France in a recent study on local media.

"Laws are increasingly criminalizing journalists, when they should be protecting them," notes the organization's editorial director.

Nevertheless, "tools exist," she adds, citing the European Commission's regulation on freedom in the media ("European media freedom act"), which came into force in 2025, or the European directive against SLAPP suits.

AFP