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The aim of the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is to measure the level of media freedom in 180 countries and territories.
“There are fewer and fewer countries today where press freedom is guaranteed,” warned Thibaut Bruttin, Director General of RSF, on FranceInfo a few days ago.
He was commenting on the 2026 index, which had just been published and in which more than half of the world’s countries fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories for press freedom. This means, according to the report’s findings, that “not only has the work of journalists never been so complicated and dangerous, but our collective right to be informed has never been so widely undermined. Journalism is being criminalized on a global scale, and the decline in the legal indicator is a clear illustration of this: the instrumentalization of increasingly restrictive laws is eroding the right to information, even within democracies.”
And even though the organization had shown in an October 2024 report that the MeToo era was considered a “feminist spring in the media,” violence against journalists has only increased, particularly in countries where right-wing forces, authoritarian regimes, and populist movements have gained ground in recent years.
Northern Mediterranean countries: Satisfactory, but room for improvement
For the region covered by Medfeminiswiya, namely the Mediterranean basin, the situation in the northern countries remains, as usual, far more satisfactory than in the south.
France, Italy, and Spain nevertheless face recurring tensions: political pressure, intimidation during demonstrations, judicial investigations targeting journalists, and economic difficulties affecting independent media, all of which weigh on the independence and quality of journalism.
Türkiye, on the other hand, is still considered among the worst in the region, with repressive laws, arrests of journalists, the closure of media outlets, and tight state control over the media landscape.
Middle East: Journalism under fire
As for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, it remains, according to the report, the most dangerous in the world for journalists.
The factors highlighted by RSF include wars and the destruction of newsrooms—particularly in Gaza—along with restrictive laws, economic pressure and media closures, and the detention of or targeted violence against journalists. Lebanon falls into the lower range (around 130th place). With nearly 200 journalists killed in Gaza by the Israeli army since October 2023, including at least 35 women in the line of duty, the territory accounts for the highest number of journalists killed over the past two years.
In this challenging context, Syria (141st, up 36 places) stands out for its historic shift, one year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad. Although the situation remains “very serious,” indicators are improving, particularly the legal framework. While this indicator is declining across most of the region, in Syria it has become the main lever for improving working conditions in a country deeply scarred by years of the systematic destruction of journalism.
With nearly 200 journalists killed in Gaza by the Israeli army since October 2023, including at least 35 women in the line of duty, the territory accounts for the highest number of journalists killed over the past two years.
Press freedom under serious threat in North Africa
In North Africa, the erosion of press freedom is no longer a temporary phenomenon; “it has become structural, fueled by mutually reinforcing political, economic, and security dynamics,” the index states.
In Libya (138th, down 1 place), still deeply fractured, journalists are often forced to serve one side of the conflict and are also pushed toward self-censorship by an expanding legislative arsenal, strengthened by a new law on cybercrime. In countries without open warfare, constraints remain more diffuse but persistent: in Algeria (145th, down 19 places), detentions, censorship, and online harassment target independent media. Tunisia, which until 2019 held a relatively strong position (73rd), has fallen to 137th this year. The instrumentalization of the judiciary and political pressure are tightening the grip on critical journalism. While Morocco (105th, up 15 places) has seen some improvement thanks to the absence of new imprisonment of journalists, reporters there remain exposed to judicial and financial pressures.
And while this annual ranking serves as a key reference for assessing journalists’ working conditions across the globe, it is nevertheless regrettable to note that gender-inclusive language distinguishing between men and women is still not used. This seems at odds with other reports by the organization, which clearly state that, in the practice of this profession, women are significantly more likely to encounter all kinds of discrimination.
