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Political attacks on press freedom, including the detention of journalists, suppression of independent media outlets and widespread dissemination of misinformation, have significantly intensified, according to the annual World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on May 3.

The index ranks 180 countries on the ability of journalists to work and report freely and independently.

In a year when more than half the world’s population will go to the polls in democratic elections, the RSF’s index shows an overall decline in press freedom globally and a steep rise in the political repression of journalists and independent media outlets.

Norway retained its top position on the RSF index, but the group highlighted that the country had also seen a fall in its political score.

Eritrea ranked lowest, taking over from North Korea which was in the last position in 2023.

Afghanistan fell 26 places to 178th, Togo went down by 43 to 113th and Ecuador was ranked 110th after slipping down 30 places.

The 13 highest-ranked nations where were all in Europe, with Norway followed by Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland and Germany rounding out the top 10.

The Middle East and North Africa remained the most challenging regions, RSF said.

It pointed out that the situation was "very serious" in nearly half of the countries in the two regions.

Armenia ranked highest amongst the South Caucasus countries at 43, gaining six places over its rank last year.

RSF said that Armenia was facing an "unprecedented level of disinformation and hate speech" following the surrender of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan in September 2022 and the "ongoing threat of war with Azerbaijan".

"The majority of media are controlled by people close to political movements or are supported by influential public figures. Few outlets have adopted paid subscription models, and the advertising market remains under-developed, which limits the financial independence of privately owned media. Meanwhile, state-owned media refrain from any criticism of the government.

"As a profession, journalism is disparaged and subject to especially troubling hate speech. Anti-media rhetoric from political elites, who accuse journalists of “corruption” and of being in the service of their adversaries, creates a climate of intolerance that hinders reporters’ work. They are constantly insulted, assaulted and subject to abusive defamation proceedings, which reinforces self-censorship," reads the report.

Georgia dropped 26 spots on the World Press Freedom Index, while Azerbaijan fell 13 places.