There is a worldwide increase in populist authoritarianism and an erosion of democracy and western liberal values. With that is a corresponding attack on journalistic freedom and the lives of journalists around the world.
World Press Freedom Index 2018: Europe turning into crisis region for journalists | DW | 25.04.2018
Hostility toward journalists and media poses a serious threat to democracies around the world, including within Europe, the media watchdog
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) announced in its
2018 World Press Freedom Index on Wednesday.
As a region, Europe still ranks the highest on RSF's index, but its rating also dropped more than that of any other region this year.
Four of the top five countries where press freedom deteriorated the most are in Europe.
Malta, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Serbia all fell substantially. The watchdog voiced particular concern about the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta, followed by the killing of
investigative reporter Jan Kuciak just five months later in Slovakia.
With the rise of populist politics and "strongman" leaders, Europe's downward trend will likely continue, according to RSF. Last year, Czech President Milos Zeman showed up at a press conference with a fake Kalashnikov bearing the words "for journalists." Robert Fico, who resigned as Slovakia's prime minister in March, called journalists "filthy, anti-Slovak prostitutes" and "idiotic hyenas."
