Guyana drops 26 spots on World Press Freedom Index

Guyana has dropped 26 spots in the press freedom rankings moving to 60 out of the 180 countries listed on the 2023 World Press Freedom Index, which was compiled by Reporters without Borders (RSF).

The ranking was released yesterday by the RSF which condemned the harassment and intimidation of journalists in Guyana through online targeting and disrespect from the administration.

The report, which assesses the state of journalism in 180 countries and territories, highlights the disastrous effects of news and information chaos – the effects of a globalised and unregulated online information space that encourages fake news and propaganda. It stated that the environment for the practice and promotion of journalism is satisfactory in only 30% of the countries. It was released earlier in the week.

The report noted that journalists in Guyana continue to encounter pushback from the government and supporters of the ruling party in their work. This includes exclusion from routine press briefings by the administration and intimidation tactics.

The report cited a recent incident where journalists were forced to sit among the public and be verbally intimidated while asking questions, particularly when bringing up certain topics like oil. In this instance, the crowd was largely composed of vocal supporters of President Irfaan Ali’s party and the meeting was more like a rally.

It highlighted the attacks on journalist Devina Baggot and President of the Guyana Press Association

Guyana’s ranking Nazima Raghubir.

“Whether directly attacking the media or encouraging supporters to do so with a wink and a nod, President Ali is putting journalists at risk for simply doing their jobs. President Ali’s administration must take action to ensure all journalists are safe to do their jobs. This includes holding to account party supporters who intimidate members of the press,” RFS US Bureau Executive Director Clayton Weiners was quoted as saying in the report.

Further the RFS report, highlighted critical reporting by the Guyana

Chronicle, which is owned by the government, on the press association, especially Raghubir.

“This exemplifies a larger issue that the government controls many of the media outlets in the small country and tries to silence those who criticise the administration. There have been no cabinet press briefings since August 2020,” the report added.

Guyana is one of 51 members of the Media Freedom Coalition, which advocates for media freedom and the protection of journalists.

Meanwhile, in its global analysis, RSF said the situation was “very serious” in 31 countries, “difficult” in 42, “problematic” in 55, and “good” or “satisfactory” in 52 countries. “In other words, the environment for journalism is ‘bad’ in seven out of ten countries, and satisfactory in only three out of ten.”

In the Americas, where Guyana falls, there is no longer any country coloured green on the press freedom map. Costa Rica, it said, dropped down 15 spots to 23rd and was the last country in the region to have a situation classified as “good”. Its classification has changed following a five-place fall due to a sharp decline in its political score (down 15.68 points), and it is now ranked lower than Canada (up 4 at 15th). Mexico (128th) has fallen another place this year and now has the world’s most disappeared journalists (28 in the past 20 years). Cuba (172nd), where censorship has been stepped up again and where the press is still a state monopoly, continues to have the region’s lowest ranking, as it did in 2022.

“The World Press Freedom Index shows enormous volatility in situations, with major rises and falls and unprecedented changes, such as Brazil’s 18-place rise and Senegal’s 31-place fall. This instability is the result of increased aggressiveness on the part of the authorities in many countries and growing animosity towards journalists on social media and in the physical world. The volatility is also the consequence of growth in the fake content industry, which produces and distributes disinformation and provides the tools for manufacturing it.” Christophe Deloire, RSF SecretaryGeneral was quoted as saying.

The 2023 Index spotlights the rapid effects that the digital ecosystem’s fake content industry has had on press freedom.

According to the report, in 118 countries (twothirds of the 180 countries evaluated), most of the Index questionnaire’s respondents reported that political actors in their countries were often or systematically involved in massive disinformation or propaganda campaigns.

The difference is being blurred between true and false, real and artificial, facts and artifices, jeopardising the right to information. The unprecedented ability to tamper with content is being used to undermine those who embody quality journalism and weaken journalism itself, it said.

The remarkable development of artificial intelligence is wreaking further havoc on the media world, which had already been undermined by Web 2.0, the report added, before pointing out that AI was digesting content and regurgitating it in the form of syntheses that flout the principles of rigour and reliability.

It also said that the disinformation industry disseminates manipulative content on a huge scale, as shown by an investigation by the Forbidden Stories consortium, a project cofounded by RSF.

Guyana’s latest ranking places it behind the United States (45th), Australia (39th), and Suriname (52nd). Norway continues to occupy the top spot.

Last year, Guyana ranked 34th out of 180 countries.