Global press freedom has fallen to its lowest point in over two decades, with China ranked third from the bottom. (Screenshot from Reporters Without Borders website)
[People News] Radio Free Asia’s English service reported on May 2 that Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released its annual World Press Freedom Index on Friday, revealing that global press freedom is at its lowest level in more than 20 years. The downturn in the global economy is shaking the very foundations of the journalism industry.
RSF emphasised that this is the first time since the index was established in 2002 that global press freedom has been classified as "difficult."
According to RFA’s report, RSF stated in its 2025 index release: "Without economic independence, there can be no free journalism." The statement added: "When media outlets face financial hardship, they often compete fiercely for audiences, sacrificing quality reporting and potentially becoming tools of oligarchs or public authorities."
RSF noted that nearly one-third of the 180 countries surveyed have news outlets that are shutting down. Even countries with relatively high rankings, such as New Zealand and South Africa, are facing challenges to financial sustainability in their media sectors.
As tech giants like Google, Meta, and Apple continue to absorb an increasing share of advertising revenue, RSF pointed out that this trend has contributed to the spread of manipulated and misleading content.
The organisation also stated that former President Trump’s second term further damaged press freedom by ending funding for U.S. public media outlets, including Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. These outlets had reported on countries where authoritarian regimes suppressed independent voices.
In the 2025 Press Freedom Index, the bottom three countries are China, North Korea, and Eritrea. China dropped six places from the previous year to rank 178th, indicating a further deterioration of an already severe situation.
"China is currently the world’s largest jailer of journalists," said Aleksandra Bielakowska, RSF’s Asia-Pacific Advocacy Manager.
"They’ve managed to arrest nearly all those who still bravely attempt to report on the ground," she told RFA in an interview.
Bielakowska said China’s already limited press freedom began to erode more than a decade ago, and the situation has worsened significantly under Xi Jinping, as he and his loyalists have centralised state power. She noted that media freedom in China today is nearly indistinguishable from the total control of information under North Korea’s dynastic regime.
Moreover, the operational space for foreign media in China has become extremely limited.
About 15 years ago, foreign journalists could still travel to sensitive regions like Xinjiang and Tibet to report on tensions with Beijing’s rule, but now access is nearly impossible without joining a government-organised propaganda tour, she said.
"This is not just an authoritarian state, it’s a truly totalitarian system," she said. "In this system, no one can speak out, no one can report on problems. Journalists can only function as mouthpieces for the Party."
Even worse, the Chinese Communist Party's crackdown on independent media is increasingly being copied by countries in Southeast Asia and beyond.
In Cambodia, a close ally of Beijing, the press freedom index dropped 10 spots to 161st.
This continued decline reflects ongoing persecution and violence against journalists in the country. In December 2024, environmental reporter Chhoeung Chheung was shot and killed while investigating illegal logging.
A well-known Cambodian journalist, Mech Dara, gained attention for reporting on corruption and human rights abuses. But after being detained for several weeks last year, he ultimately chose to leave journalism.
"There are many journalists like him," Bielakowska said. "Mech Dara was one of the most respected reporters in Cambodia, yet even he gave up journalism because he couldn’t withstand the pressure."
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