WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX

3. What is the ranking of India in the World Press Freedom Index?

• According to the latest Reporters Without Borders (RSF) report, India's ranking in the World Press Freedom Index has dropped to 161 out of 180 countries, down from its previous rank of 150 in 2022.
• This suggests that Press freedom in India has faced significant challenges and restrictions, as journalists and media outlets are increasingly facing censorship, legal harassment, and violence.
• In contrast, Pakistan has improved its ranking, moving up to 150 from last year's 157th rank, indicating a relatively better situation for media freedom in the country.
• Similarly, Sri Lanka has made significant progress, moving up to 135th position this year from 146th in 2022.
• It is worth noting that Norway, Ireland, and Denmark hold the top three positions in the press freedom ranking, indicating a favorable environment for press freedom in these countries.
• In contrast, Vietnam, China, and North Korea occupy the bottom three positions, reflecting severe restrictions on media freedom and human rights abuses in these countries.

4. India's Performance

• India's position has been consistently falling in the index since 2016 when it was ranked 133.
• The reasons behind the fall in the ranking are the increased violence against journalists and a politically partisan media.
• The other Phenomenon that dangerously restricts the free flow of information is the acquisition of media outlets by oligarchs who maintain close ties with political leaders.
• The organization asserts that many journalists in India are forced to censor themselves due to extreme pressure.

5. What is Reporters without Borders?

• Reporters Without Borders or Reporters Sans Frontiers (in French) is a global media watchdog headquartered in Paris, France, and it publishes a yearly report on press freedom in countries across the world.
• Founded in 1985 and RSF is at the forefront of the defence and promotion of freedom of information.
• Recognized as a public interest organization in France since 1995, RSF has consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe, and the International Organization of Francophonie (OIF).

6. How does it measure Press Freedom?

• Press freedom is defined as the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal, and social interference and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.
• The index then compares levels of press freedom globally based on this definition.
  It develops a score between 0 (for the worst possible performance in terms of securing press freedom) and 100 (the best possible score).
• This year, Norway scored 95.18 at the first position, North Korea at 21.72 and India scored 36.62. A score below 70 falls under the ‘problematic’ category. 
• A tally of abuses against media and journalists in connection with their work, arrived at by monitoring and analyzing news stories on journalists being imprisoned or killed.
• A qualitative analysis of the situation in each country or territory based on the responses of “press freedom specialists”, including journalists, researchers, academics, and human rights defenders, to an RSF questionnaire available in 24 languages. These include Arabic, Chinese, English, Hindi, Spanish, etc.

7. What does the 2023 report say about press freedom globally?

• The index states in 2023 that "the environment for journalism is bad in seven out of ten countries, and satisfactory in only three out of ten.
• It also highlighted concerns of propaganda fake news, further heightened given the rise of artificial intelligence technology.
• Programs like Midourney, which can create life-like images based on a simple text prompt, were mentioned in this context.
• North Korea (180th), China (179th), Vietnam (178th), Myanmar (173rd)- Asia's one-party regimes and dictatorships are the ones that constrict journalism the most, with leaders tightening their totalitarian stranglehold on the public discourse, it states, terming China as the world's biggest jailer of journalists and press freedom advocates.

8. Constitutional Provisions

• The Supreme Court in Romesh Thappar vs. the state of Madras, 1950 observed that freedom of the press lay at the foundation of all democratic organizations.
• It is guaranteed under the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19, which deals with the 'Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.
• Freedom of the press is not expressly protected by the Indian legal system but it is impliedly protected under Article 19(1) (a) of the constitution.
• The freedom of the press is also not absolute.