Authoritarian leaders worldwide have incited violence against journalists by fuelling hatred in their supporters, Reporters Without Borders announced on Thursday according to Yahoo! News.
Hostility from political leaders towards journalists and the media "has incited increasingly frequent acts of violence that have fuelled an unprecedented level of fear and danger for journalists," the organization wrote in its annual World Press Freedom Index report.
"If the political debate slides towards a civil war-style atmosphere, where journalists are treated as scapegoats, then democracy is in great danger," said RSF head Christophe Deloire.
The report added that the period following President Donald Trump’s election has been among the "American journalism community's darkest moments."
It continued, “Never before have US journalists been subjected to so many death threats or turned so often to private security firms for protection.”
“Hatred of the media is now such that a gunman walked into the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis, Maryland, in June and killed four journalists and one other staff member.”
The report notes that six journalists were murdered in India last year, and that journalists critical of Hindu nationalism, which is supported by the country’s ruling party, “are branded as 'anti-Indian' in online harassment campaigns.”
It also lists Turkey, which is the largest jailer of journalists, as among the worst countries, as is Russia, North Korea and Turkmenistan, which is the lowest-ranked country on the index. The highest-ranking countries are Norway, Finland and Sweden.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.