Overview
- The 2026 World Press Freedom Index, published Thursday, shows more than half of countries now rated difficult or very grave, and the share of people living where conditions are good has fallen to under 1%.
- The United States fell seven places to 64th, which RSF’s Thibaut Bruttin links to President Donald Trump’s efforts to control information through funding cuts to public media and lawsuits targeting reporters.
- Niger posted the steepest decline, dropping 37 places to 120th, in what RSF says reflects worsening conditions across the Sahel under military juntas and persistent armed-group attacks.
- Saudi Arabia ranks 176th after a 14-place fall, with RSF pointing to the 2025 execution of journalist Turki al-Jasser as a stark marker, and Eritrea remains last at 180th.
- RSF reports the sharpest global erosion in the legal environment since post‑2001 national security laws, and it notes new European media rules and anti‑SLAPP steps as partial safeguards that still need stronger enforcement.