Ukraine has made significant progress in press freedom, moving up 18 places to 61st out of 180 countries in the global press freedom ranking, according to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index by the international non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Norway maintains its top position in the press freedom ranking, while Eritrea has the worst situation.
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Ukraine's improvement in the ranking is attributed to enhancements in its security indicator, with fewer journalists killed, and its political indicator.
RSF highlighted that all countries with "good" press freedom are in Europe, particularly within the European Union, which has adopted its first media freedom law (EMFA).
The top five countries are Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Finland.
However, press freedom is facing challenges in Hungary, Malta, and Greece, the three lowest-ranked EU countries.
In Eastern Europe, journalism conditions are worsening due to increased disinformation and media censorship, with media outlets falsely accused of undermining national security or promoting terrorism.
This situation is evident in Russia (162nd), Belarus (167th), and Turkmenistan (175th). Kremlin influence on media censorship extends to Serbia, Georgia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan.
In China (172nd), the government detains more journalists than any other country globally and continues to exercise strict control over information channels, implementing censorship and surveillance policies to regulate online content and restrict the spread of information deemed sensitive or contrary to the party line.
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