Reporters Without Borders (RSF) recently issued the 20^th edition of the World Press Freedom Index in which it ranked 180 countries across the globe according to their press freedom levels. More particularly, countries were assigned scores ranging from 0 to 100, with 0 being the worst possible score and 100 the best. More specifically, scores were grouped as follows: [0 – 40[: “very serious”, [40 - 55[: “difficult”, [55 – 70[: “problematic”, [70 – 85[: “satisfactory”, and [85 – 100]: “good”. RSF revealed that it has developed a new methodology for the index which now incorporates five new indicators, namely the “political context”, “legal framework”, “economic context”, “sociocultural context”, and “security” indicators. In this vein, RSF indicated that 28 countries were categorized as having “very bad” press freedom in the 2022 index, 42 were characterized with “difficult” press freedom, 62 were classified as having “problematic” press freedom, 40 countries were grouped under a “satisfactory” press freedom, and 8 were classified as having “good” press freedom. Furthermore, RSF revealed that 27 individuals (25 journalists and 2 media workers) were killed in the year 2022, in comparison with 50 individuals a year earlier while 479 individuals (460 journalists and 19 media workers) are currently detained in prison, 63 of whom were captured in 2022 (compared to 302 in 2021).

In detail, RSF unveiled that the Europe – Eastern Asia region continued to enjoy the freest media in the index despite the polarization in the West and the war & propaganda in the East. More specifically, RSF commented that the European Union is caught between two extremes as two former communist states are now within the top 10 in the index. Eastern Europe and Central Asia, on the other hand, witnessed heightened repression, particularly as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine. In details, RSF revealed that Norway topped the list of countries for yet another year with a score of 92.65, followed by Denmark (with a score of 90.27), Sweden (with a score of 88.84), Estonia (with a score of 88.83), and Finland (with a score of 88.42). When it comes to the Americas (North, Central and South), murders were reported in the South and attacks were witnessed in the North. As far as Africa is concerned, the index reported that the region is characterized by its varying levels of press freedom. The Asia-Pacific region, on the other hand, witnessed a significant deterioration in press freedom as a result of two major events, namely the military coup in Burma in 2021 and Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan. RSF commented that journalists are risking their lives in the Middle East and North Africa region. More specifically, RSF stated that several journalists were killed while on the job, while others were deliberately murdered. In this vein, RSF noted that the region still has a long way to go before becoming a safe destination for journalists. Country-wise, Tunisia ranked first in the region and 94^th in the world in the 2022 press freedom index with a score of 58.49, followed by Qatar (2^nd regionally and 119^th globally; score of 49.03) and Jordan (3^rd regionally and 120^th globally; score of 48.66).

Locally, Lebanon ranked 4^th amongst its Middle Eastern peers and 130^th in the world with a press freedom score of 46.58 (compared to a score 65.07, a global rank of 107 and third regional rank in the 2021 index). More specifically, Lebanon scored 50.91 in the political indicator (global rank: 111), 50.22 in the legal indicator (global rank: 137), 38.27 in the economic indicator (global rank: 111), 60.50 in the social indicator (global rank: 117), and 33.02 in the security indicator (global rank: 148). RSF commented that Lebanon is in danger of falling into a spiral of violence as journalists are increasingly faced with online attacks and death threats, with some threats sometimes becoming a reality. RSF also noted that the lack of action from Lebanese officials has forced several journalists into exile.