Every day I seem to be reading another story about the erosion of press freedoms here in the United States and around the world. The insidious takeover of print and online news outlets by rightwing corporate capitalist enterprises is just one factor in the loss of press freedoms in North America. And then we have blantant attempts by state governments to legislate limits on presss freedom.

Reporters Without Borders has recently released the 2023 World Press Freedom Index. 180 countries and territories were analyzed. The top 3 highest-ranked countries are Norway, Ireland, and Denmark. 52 countries in the ranking have either a “satisfactory” or “good” situation of the press.

The lowest level of press freedom is observed in North Korea, China, and Vietnam. In 31 countries, there is a “very serious” situation of the press, while 42 fall under the “difficult” category. The United States is 45th in the ranking, three positions down, compared to 2022.

Statista took the data from the 2023 World Press Freedom Index and created a map that ranks countries by the level of press freedom, shown above.

It’s worth highlighting that the report notes the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, which may be used to undermine trustworthy journalism and weaken the field of journalism as a whole.

The World Press Freedom Index has been published annually by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) since 2002. It’s based on a variety of criteria, including the legal environment, the independence of journalists, transparency, censorship, and the safety of journalists.