The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

The ‘deep and disturbing decline’ in global press freedom

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April 20, 2016 at 11:43 a.m. EDT
A Turkish protester holds a placard and a press card on April 1 before the trial of two journalists. Turkey ranks 151 out of 180 countries in terms of press freedom. (Sedat Suna/European Pressphoto Agency)

For the first time in more than a decade, the press is freer in Africa than in the Americas. Yet a global "climate of fear and tension" continues to erode press freedom around the world, according to the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.

The group's 2016 World Press Freedom Index reveals a "deep and disturbing decline in respect for media freedom at both the global and regional levels." Global press freedom violations are up 14 percent since 2013, according to its scoring system.