FIVE THINGS ABOUT PRESS FREEDOM

1 ‘SCANDALS’ IN CANADA

The 2017 World Press Freedom Index said Canada went through a “series of scandals” last year that highlighted the fragility of the confidentiality of journalists’ sources. Those incidents include Quebec provincial police spying on at least six journalists and seizing a reporter’s computer and the arrest of a reporter covering a protest against the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project in Labrador. Canada dropped four points on the index and sits in the 22nd spot overall.

2 U.S. DROPS IN RANKING

The United States, too, has seen an “alarming” decline in press freedom, with the U.S. slipping two places to 43rd overall, said Delphine Halgand, RSF’s North America director. “Verbal attacks meant to undermine the work of journalists are coming from some of the highest positions in government,” Halgand said.

3 THE AGE OF ‘POST-TRUTH’

Overall, the 2017 index reflects a world in which attacks on media have become commonplace, RSF said. “We have reached the age of post-truth, propaganda and suppression of freedoms — especially in democracies,” the report states. “Nothing seems to be checking that fall.”

4 THE TRUMP EFFECT

The report takes aim at the U.S. and Britain for the media bashing that occurred during Donald Trump’s rise to the U.S. presidency and the U.K. Brexit campaign. “The hate speech used by the new boss in the White House and his accusations of lying also helped to disinhibit attacks on the media almost everywhere in the world, including in democratic countries.”

5 NORWAY TOPS LIST

The index ranks a country’s press freedom on the diversity of opinions tolerated, independence of media, the legal environment, and abuses or violence directed at journalists. Norway topped the 2017 index, while North Korea was at the bottom.