Russia’s war in Ukraine has devastating effect on press freedom in the region
The war waged by Russia against Ukraine is creating devastating consequences for press freedom in the region, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on May 3 as it released its annual World Press Freedom Index.
The Paris-based media freedom watchdog said reporters have been killed and injured while reporting on the war and noted massive disinformation and a level of censorship not seen since the Soviet period.
The Russian troops have deliberately targeted news sources in territories they occupied and tried to coerce the local media’s cooperation, as RSF said in a news release accompanying its 2022 index, which lists Russia at 155th among a ranking of 180 countries based on its assessment of their media freedom.
“In Russia itself, the government has taken complete control of news and information by establishing extensive wartime censorship, blocking the media, and pursuing non-compliant journalists, forcing many of them into exile,” RSF said.
