Reporters Without Borders says that 2014 was a bad year for press freedom in the world, and nothing indicates that 2015 will be better. Its annual World Press Freedom Index makes for grim reading, but remains flattering for Finland, where it judges the press enjoyed more freedom again last year than in any of the 180 countries analyzed.
The report states that media freedom is in retreat on all five continents. Its annual global indicator, which measures the overall level of violations of freedom of information rose by 8% over 2014 and almost 10% compared with 2013. The decline in press freedom affected all continents.
In large part, Reporters Without Borders places the blame on the proliferation of armed conflict. It says that in 2014, all warring parties without exception waged information war, and that the media, used for propaganda purposes or starved of information, became strategic targets and were attacked, or even silenced.
