Reporters Without Borders (RWB), an international organisation that monitors attacks on journalists and different forms of censorship, has ranked India at 138th spot in its 2018 World Press Freedom Index, down two places from last year’s rank of 136 among 180 nations. The report was released on Wednesday.
“In India (down two at 138th), hate speech targeting journalists is shared and amplified on social networks, often by troll armies in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pay,” the report noted. Norway topped the list, again, North Korea was at the bottom. Pakistan was placed at the 139th spot and China at 176th. The US, the country of the First Amendment, too, fell two places to settle at 45th rank. The report also speaks of a “growing animosity towards journalists”. It notes that: “Hostility towards the media, openly encouraged by political leaders, and the efforts of authoritarian regimes to export their vision of journalism pose a threat to democracies.”
The India chapter is headlined: “Deadly threat from Modi’s nationalism.” It notes that, “At least three of the journalists murdered in 2017 were targeted in connection with their work. They included the newspaper editor Gauri Lankesh, who had been the target of a hate campaign on social networks. Three other journalists were killed for their professional activity in March 2018.”
RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire was quoted as saying: “The unleashing of hatred towards journalists is one of the worst threats to democracies.”
Last year, the Indian media had covered the findings of the World Press Freedom Index rather reluctantly. Moreover, Times of India and Economic Times had pulled down their stories on India’s dismal performance on the index, showing us how self censorship — a key theme of the index — actually works.