RSF index: Iraq’s media landscape ‘Very Serious’
Shafaq News/ Iraq ranked among the most challenging environments for journalists globally, according to Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) 2025 World Press Freedom Index.
The report highlights a sharp worldwide decline in press freedom, driven largely by financial strain. RSF warned that mounting economic instability, coupled with advertiser pressure and concentrated media ownership, continues to erode editorial independence.
Of the 180 countries evaluated, news outlets in 160 are battling financial unsustainability. A growing number of states, including the United States (ranked 57th, down two spots), Argentina (87th, down 21), and Tunisia (129th, down 11), reported repeated shutdowns of media operations due to economic distress.
In Palestine, ranked 163rd, RSF documented nearly 200 journalist deaths and extensive damage to media facilities amid the Gaza blockade. Meanwhile, political instability in Haiti (112th, down 18) has left its press sector paralyzed.
Even nations once considered press freedom strongholds, such as South Africa (27th) and New Zealand (16th), are facing newsroom closures and mounting commercial interference.
The report also highlights a surge in journalist exile. In 34 countries—including Nicaragua (172nd), Belarus (166th), Iran (176th), and Afghanistan (175th)—reporters have fled worsening repression and collapsing economies.
For the first time, more than half of the countries surveyed fall into categories labeled “problematic” or “very serious” for press freedom. Only a quarter earned “satisfactory” ratings. Globally, average press freedom scores dipped below the 55-point mark—an all-time low since the index began.
RSF compiles the index using five key indicators: political context, legal environment, economic pressures, sociocultural factors, and journalist safety.
