Journalism is plagued by propaganda and increasingly sophisticated fake news, aided by artificial intelligence and the inability of technology companies to oversee it. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) draws attention to this in the World Press Freedom Index published on Wednesday, TASR informs.
The environment for journalists is unfavorable in 70 percent of the 180 evaluated countries, according to RSF's press freedom index. It rates it as good in only eight countries. Norway is again at the top of this year's ranking. However, the second place was unusually occupied by Ireland and not another Nordic country. Third is Denmark, according to RSF on its website. Slovakia took 17th place and improved by ten places compared to last year. The neighboring Czech Republic also improved, moving from last year's 20th place to 14th place. The last three ranks were occupied by Asian countries. Vietnam (ranked 178th), "which has almost ended its hunt for reporters", China (ranked 179th) - "the biggest jailer of journalists" and finally North Korea.
The United States fell three places to 45th due to the worsening safety situation for journalists. Russia fell nine places to 164th place. RSF points out that Moscow has started spreading its news in the occupied parts of southern Ukraine at a record speed and is cracking down on independent media the hardest so far.
The Middle East and North Africa are still the most dangerous regions for journalists, while Europe is considered the safest, although Germany (ranked 21st) has slipped five places due to attacks on journalists.
RSF also points to the many forms of disinformation that drown out credible news. This problem is exacerbated by artificial intelligence. "The distinctions between truth and falsehood, real and artificial, facts and lies are blurring, which threatens the right to information," the index states. RSF draws attention, for example, to the artificial intelligence program Midjourney, which can create very high-quality photos. Credible fake photos, such as fake photos of the arrest of former US President Donald Trump, are becoming increasingly common on social networks.
(TASR)
