Bulgaria climbed 12 places in the ranking of “Reporters without borders” (RSF), reported NOVA.
Our country is now 59th in the world for freedom of speech out of 180 countries, up from 71st last year. Bulgaria also improves its position among the countries of the European Union, climbing from 24th to 23rd place.
Among the reasons for increasing Bulgaria's score, “Reporters without Borders” indicates the previous regular cabinet, “showed readiness to undertake reforms in the field of media freedom”. The organization also notes the reaction of the authorities in cases of police violence against journalists. “Despite the growth, the political and economic indicators and security indicators of media freedom remain relatively low”, added by “Reporters without Borders”.
In the countries of the European Union, the freedom of the media is in a good state, the report says, taking into account the European law on freedom of the media recently approved by the MEPs, whose purpose is to protect journalists, to fight political interference in the editorial decisions and increase transparency of media ownership.
Although retaining its first position, Norway is among the countries that have suffered a decline in their political rating. Ireland (8th place) has lost its position as EU leader to Denmark (2nd place), followed by Sweden (3rd place). Germany is now among the top ten countries. RSF comments that media freedom is being tested in Hungary, Malta and Greece. In the eastern part of Europe, the conditions for journalism are deteriorating due to the scale of disinformation and censorship in the media.
The three countries that were at the bottom of last year's index - Vietnam, China and North Korea - give way to three countries whose political results have sharply decreased. These are Afghanistan (down 44 places in the political rankings), which has haunted journalists since the Taliban took control of the country's government; Syria (down eight places in the political ranking); and Eritrea (down nine places in the political ranking), which is now in last place in both the political and overall rankings.
From “Reporters Without Borders” report on the election-heavy year, warning that in the absence of regulation, the use of generative artificial intelligence in the arsenal of disinformation for political purposes is troubling. The deepfake already occupies a leading position in influencing the course of the elections. Proof of this is the deepfake audio of the journalist Monika Todova during the parliamentary elections in Slovakia. This is one of the first documented cases of such an attack against a journalist with the aim of influencing the outcome of a democratic election. The organization also expects increased pressure on journalists in connection with the vote in all regions of the world.
The organization summarizes that the freedom of the media around the world is threatened by the people who should be its guarantors - the political authorities.