Overview
- The Freedom of Expression Index dropped by 10% from 2012 to 2024, with the sharpest deterioration beginning in 2020.
- UNESCO says the decline rivals losses seen during World War I, the pre–World War II period, and the Cold War peak.
- Governments have expanded digital surveillance and increasingly used defamation, hate-speech, or misinformation laws to intimidate or silence media.
- Self-censorship has become widespread as journalists avoid reporting on corruption, environmental crimes, and human rights.
- Western Europe and North America remain the strongest regions yet show setbacks in academic and cultural freedom, as UNESCO urges protection of journalists, rule of law, pluralistic parliaments, and investment in media literacy and media development while noting growth in investigative and citizen media.