The Philippines Falls Further Down in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index
A year ago, the Philippines ranked 138th out of 180 countries in global press watchdog Reporters Without Borders (R.S.F.)'s World Press Freedom Index. Now, the country has dropped even further down the line, falling to 147th spot.
According to the 2022 edition of the index, polarization has only increased in local democratic and international spheres because of coordinated disinformation circuits over the past year. The effects of a "globalized and unregulated online information space" have led to fake news and propaganda prospering even more.
The new methodology defines press freedom as “the effective possibility for journalists, as individuals and as groups, to select, produce and disseminate news and information in the public interest, independently from political, economic, legal and social interference, and without threats to their physical and mental safety.”
There are five new indicators the organization used to compile the index. These are the country's political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and security.
With the new methodology, the group sought help from seven experts in the academic and media sectors for the index.
Indicators are evaluated through a quantitative survey of press freedom violations and abuses, as well as a qualitative study based on the responses of hundreds of press freedom experts, ranging from journalists and academics to human rights defenders.
Data gathering for the index stopped last January 2022. Updates for January to March 2022 had only been made for countries with a dramatic shift in their situation, including Russia, Mali, and Ukraine.
