PARIS – Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders is sounding the alarm that the coronavirus pandemic poses a threat for press freedom around the world.
In its annual evaluation of global media freedoms, the group warned Tuesday that the health crisis could serve as an excuse for governments “to take advantage of the fact that politics are on hold, the public is stunned and protests are out of the question, in order to impose measures that would be impossible in normal times.” North Korea ranked bottom of the group's press freedom index.
As in 2019, Norway again topped its ranking of 180 countries and territories. Overall, the report judged press freedom to be “satisfactory" in the United States, but also said “public denigration, threats,