Press freedom is at its lowest level in 25 years. This is according to the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Its annual World Press Freedom Index assessed how free the media is in 180 countries. RSF said press freedom was "problematic" or worse in three quarters of the nations. In over half of the world, conditions were "difficult" to "very serious". This was a third in 2013. Press freedom was considered "problematic" in over 70 per cent of countries. The RSF said conditions were "good" in seven countries. These were all in northern and western Europe.

The RSF report is worried about growing pressure on journalists. It stated: "Political pressure on the press is intensifying [and] authoritarian tendencies are growing." It said there was "an alarming deterioration in the conditions for journalism in many parts of the world". The Index reported that there was a "systematic policy" of attacks on journalists in the USA. It said that in Russia, "laws designed to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism" were used to "restrict press freedom". Sixty-seven journalists were killed worldwide in 2025.