It might have been almost unthinkable until a few years ago but many democracies around the world are resorting to new forms of curbs and attacks against journalism.
The latest Freedom House report says independent media is taking hits in both democracies and authoritarian states as “leaders intent on consolidating power are finding new ways to repress independent journalism.”
Independent journalism is facing challenges in some of the largest population states in the world including China, India, the United States and Pakistan, according to the report entitled “Freedom and the Media: A Downward Spiral.”
While Chinese Communist Party continues to expand its influence over media production, in the United States President Trump’s rhetoric against the media has contributed to eroding public confidence in the media outlets and also shrunk foreign journalists’ confidence in Washington D.C. as defender of their rights and leader of the Press freedom they looked up to traditionally.
“The regime in China has worked to close off the last remaining avenues for accessing uncensored information by increasing pressure on private technology companies to police the content on their platforms more assiduously,” says Freedom House.
Regarding challenges facing the mainstream media in the United States, the report says “although US legal protections for media freedom remain strong, President Trump’s continual vilification of the press has seriously exacerbated an ongoing erosion of public confidence in mainstream outlets.”
“Among other steps, the president has repeatedly threatened to strengthen libel laws, revoke the licenses of certain broadcasters, and damage media owners’ other business interests,” the organization adds.
In India, the world’s most populous democracy, the ruling party propagates that holding the government accountable is not part of the Press’s responsibility.
“The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has supported campaigns to discourage speech that is “antinational,” and government-aligned thugs have raided critical journalists’ homes and offices. The media have become widely flattering of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who won reelection last month, amid allegations that the government issues directives on how the press should cover his activities and intimidates journalists who push back. The government has also been selective in the allocation of television licenses, effectively excluding unfriendly outlets from the airwaves.”
In Pakistan, the report says, security agents have allegedly warned journalists against coverage of taboo subjects.
The report also points out that “a bill now under consideration in Pakistan, whose press freedom environment is highly restricted, would impose a licensing regime on online journalists and news outlets.”
But it’s not all gloom and doom around the world. There are some positive stories too.
For instance, the report cites positive relationship between strengthening media freedoms and democratic progress in countries including Ethiopia, Malaysia, Ecuador, and The Gambia. “Experience has shown that press freedom can rebound from even lengthy stints of repression when given the opportunity,” says Sarah Repucci, senior director for research and analysis, at the Freedom House.
“The basic desire for democratic liberties, including honest and fact-based journalism, cannot be extinguished.”
Antidemocratic leaders in fragile democracies have attempted to tame the media by deploying economic, legal, and extralegal tools to silence critical journalists and bolster friendly outlets.
A lack of trust in mainstream news sources, an onslaught of disinformation, and a shortage of sustainable business models all grind down the media sector, laying the groundwork for co-optation by ill-intentioned political actors. “In some of the most influential democracies in the world, populist leaders have overseen a concerted attempt to throttle the independence of the media,” says Sarah Repucci.
“While threats to global media freedom are concerning in their own right, their effect on the state of democracy is what makes them truly dangerous.”
