Press Freedom Index: MENA countries go from bad to worse for journalists
The New Arab Staff
03 May, 2023
Most countries in the MENA region have become more hostile to journalists, according to the 2023 World Press Freedom Index.
Most Arab states saw a decline in press freedoms over the past year, according to the 2023 World Press Freedom Index.
The report, compiled annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) to review the state of journalism around the world, concluded that press freedom in several major Arab countries - including Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt and Jordan - remains extremely low.
"Whether suppressed by authoritarian rulers or censored by rebel militias, the freedom to report the news is heavily curtailed in the Middle East, where the situation is classified as 'very serious' in more than half of its countries," the report stated.
Syria remains one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist, with reporters there often caught in the crossfire between the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, regional militias, and Turkish troops.
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Monarchies in the Gulf states are resorting to surveillance and censorship to muzzle the media.
Saudi Arabia has fallen four places from last year as Riyadh continues its crackdown against journalists and dissidents.
"Emboldened by the impunity enjoyed by the crown prince in connection with the Khashoggi murder, the Saudi kingdom continues to repress journalists, sentencing them to long prison terms, banning them from leaving the country, and keeping them under close surveillance, even when abroad," read the report.
Egypt has been a dangerous place for journalists ever since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took power after deposing the democratically elected Mohammed Morsi in a coup in 2013. Sisi has since launched a massive crackdown on journalists critical of his government.
"Pluralism is almost non-existent in Egypt," reads the report. "Independent media are censored and targeted by prosecutors. As for television and radio, their popularity has confined them to the role of relaying political propaganda."
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Qatar is one of the few countries in the region that rose in the ranking and is up 14 places to 105th. The report states this is likely thanks to its hosting of the 2022 World Cup, when authorities loosened some of the country's media laws.
Palestine has also risen 14 places in the ranking, but the Palestinian territories remain extremely dangerous for journalists as Israeli forces routinely attack journalists with impunity, as exemplified by the killing of prominent Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot by Israeli forces last May.
Israel is ranked 97th, but Arab journalists face more difficulties in their reporting compared to their non-Arab counterparts. Palestinian journalists in particular are routinely targeted.
MENA The New Arab Staff
Conditions have also worsened across North Africa, as several countries - most notably Algeria and Tunisia - continue to drift towards authoritarianism.
Press freedom in Tunisia in particular has deteriorated quickly as a result of President Kais Saied’s "growing authoritarianism and inability to tolerate media criticism", RSF said.
Tunisia enjoyed a good spell of press freedom after an uprising overthrew the dictatorship of Zine El Abedine Ben Ali in 2011.
The 2023 index concluded that press freedom was slipping around the world, and that the environment for journalists was good in only three out of every ten countries. State-sponsored surveillance, censorship, and disinformation have made an already perilous environment worse for journalism.
Media Freedom Coalition Statement: World Press Freedom Day
Statement
On this World Press Freedom Day, we, the undersigned members of the Media Freedom Coalition, pay tribute to journalists and media workers all over the world and the work they do in informing the public, exposing wrongdoing, revealing untold stories, and holding the powerful to account.
Today is the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day. The recommendation adopted by UNESCO that led to the establishment of this day declared that “a free, pluralist and independent press is an essential component of any democratic society.” Never has this been more true than it is today. Democracies cannot function without journalists scrutinising governments and providing accurate information on the opportunities and challenges facing society.
Independent journalism is also essential to the full enjoyment of human rights, as made clear by the theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day: “Shaping a Future of Rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights.” The information that journalists provide can help citizens to better understand and secure the full protection stemming from their inherent rights; when fundamental freedoms are denied it is so often journalists who are the first to expose this.
As a global partnership of 51 countries from six continents, the Media Freedom Coalition is forthright in its belief that journalists and media workers must be free to carry out their critically important work, and we remain deeply concerned by the multitude of threats and challenges they face, both offline and online.
Journalists – in all their diversity - are subjected to physical attacks, hate speech and online abuse. Journalists in vulnerable situations may face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and harassment, including due to gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability. Women journalists are disproportionately targeted online, while the number of women journalists killed is increasing. Impunity for crimes against journalists remains far too high, with 9 out of 10 killings of journalists going unpunished. Powerful companies and individuals continue to abuse the legal system to shut down or undermine the credibility of journalists trying to report on them. Criminal defamation laws remain in force in 80% of countries according to UNESCO, while other laws that are unrelated to journalistic activity are increasingly being used to stifle and shut down independent reporting.
Misinformation and disinformation, including gendered disinformation, continue to erode trust in the media, and to be used as a pretext for repression. Powerful companies, including social media platforms, have not always taken adequate steps to promote information integrity, which has contributed to a decline of public trust in journalism. Many media outlets from all over the world are struggling to remain financially viable in a challenging business environment with dwindling advertising revenues. Journalists should be fairly paid for their work.
Today, the Media Freedom Coalition honours all journalists and media workers, and the vital work they do. We particularly pay tribute to journalists who are persecuted or unjustly detained simply for doing their jobs, and those who have been forced to flee their home country and continue their important work abroad. These journalists are an inspiration to us all.
The members of the Coalition call on governments to end repression and the stifling of independent journalism in all its forms, including the use of inflammatory rhetoric about media, and to create enabling environments in which free, independent media can flourish.
The Media Freedom Coalition applauds those governments that have taken concrete actions to advance media freedom, at home or abroad, whether through legal and policy reforms, actions by embassies, funding and other support to independent media, or by providing safe refuge to journalists who have fled their country. We encourage governments to listen to journalists and media and the civil society organizations that represent them, to ensure their own actions in defence of media freedom are well-informed and coordinated.
The Media Freedom Coalition reaffirms its commitment to upholding media freedom, which is essential to the security, prosperity and wellbeing of all societies.
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