the situation is deteriorating sharply in China and Russia, according to Reporters Without Borders

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Press freedom is deteriorating around the world: this is the report drawn up by Reporters Without Borders on Tuesday 3 May, on the occasion of World Press Day. In its annual report, the association mentions the difficulties of journalists to work according to the different countries of the globe. If France gains eight places to position itself in 26th place, with “a rather good situation” according to RSF, other countries are recording a heavy fall.

Indeed, almost the entire Asian continent is in a situation described as “very serious” for freedom of the press. Twelve Asian countries are thus entering this circle which has never been so important, including Belarus and Afghanistan. China, ranked 175th out of 180 countries, remains among the most repressive regimes, with the worst ranked being North Korea. Beijing’s note is due in particular to its desire to cut off its inhabitants from information coming from the rest of the world in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Russia, which has been widely observed since the start of the war in Ukraine, ranks 155th, five places lower than in 2021. Its rating is down, to 38.82 points against 51.29 the previous year. All the lights are red in Moscow, classified among the countries where the freedom of the press is in great danger. The situation is old, but the conflict with kyiv has caused the situation to take on dizzying proportions. It is in particular the regime’s propaganda and its repression of dissenting voices that are singled out.

Indeed, journalists there are prohibited from pronouncing the word war, from publishing independent investigations or from communicating on the human and material tolls of the conflict. At the beginning of March, the government even adopted an amendment providing for up to fifteen years in prison for a person publishing “false information against the Russian army”. Independent media shut down one after another, like the iconic Novaya Gazetathe diary of Dmitry Muratov.

More than 200 independent journalists left the country to try to inform from their exile. Thereby, Vladimir Romensky left immediately when Dojd, the independent media for which he worked had to suspend its programmes. “We find ourselves in extremely constrained conditions because the old world is destroyed. It no longer exists. Because of the law, our channel can no longer exist as before.” The 34-year-old journalist headed for Georgia and Tbilisi, from where he is now trying to make another Russian voice heard.

“Now we are part of the resistance. We must not only be those who inform, but also those who unite and oppose this war.”

Vladimir Romensky, journalist at Dojd

at franceinfo

Morale is that of exile, that is to say in sawtooth, and of never-ending combat. “Thousands of people follow our broadcasts. There is a demand. We left Russia not only to not be imprisoned, but also to be able to continue telling people the truth. And that’s what we do.”

Other journalists try, in their own way, to continue to inform on the spot. Tatiana Felgengauer worked for Echo of Moscow, one of the largest independent media outlets in the country. She made the choice to stay and continues her work on Youtube.

“I explain, for example, how to find information when the media is blocked. People are used to information coming to them like on a plate. But the time has come when it is good for everyone to learn how to find and verify information. ‘information.”

Tatiana Felgengauer, journalist at Echo of Moscow

at franceinfo

Without ever pronouncing the word war or giving a military record, she flirts every day with a red line that could send her to prison. “I also just posted a video to talk about how the state is circumventing sanctions.” The battle is difficult for this radio journalist because 47% of Russians only get their news from television. “We are facing a propaganda machine of a monstrous size. And obviously, we do not have the same means to fight it. So, at our level, we try to reach a few people. able to tell them the truth, and convey something to them.”

Beyond authoritarian regimes, Reporters Without Borders is also worried about a drift that is spreading to the most democratic countries: the “FOX-Media Newsization”a neologism taken from the name of the American television channel. “Media polarization reinforces and maintains internal divisions within societies”worries the NGO in its report. “The resurgence of social and political tensions is accelerated by social networks and new opinion media, particularly in France.”

This ever-increasing development of these opinion media amplifies and trivializes disinformation, according to RSF. “It is a fatal danger for democracies because [cela] undermines the foundations of civil harmony and tolerant public debate”, judge Christophe Deloire, its secretary general. The NGO therefore calls for a “New Deal” for journalism and asks “an appropriate legal framework, including a system for protecting democratic information spaces”.


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