Bangladesh dropped ten notches in the World Press Freedom Index 2022 released by the the media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) . Out of 180 countries listed on the index for 2022, Bangladesh ranks 162. In 2021, it had ranked 152. Its score also fell from 50.29 in 2021 to 36.63 in 2022.
Three Nordic countries Norway, Denmark and Sweden were on the top of the list occupying the first three positions on the index. North Korea is at the bottom of the index at 180th level while China has been placed on 175th and Myanmar on the 176th position of the index.
The report classifies the situation in 28 countries as ‘very bad’ while 42 countries have been classified under the category of ‘difficult situation’.
The report highlights the ‘disastrous effects of news and information chaos’ as an effect of the globalised and unregulated online information space that encourages fake news and propaganda. It notes that media polarisation is feeding and reinforcing internal social divisions in democratic societies like the United States. The increase in social and political tension is being fuelled by social media and new opinion media.
The RSF has developed a new methodology to compile the 20th World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) using five indicators including the political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and security. In view of the new methodology, RSF says that care should be taken when comparing 2022 rankings with the earlier rankings.
The indicators are prepared on the basis of a quantitative survey of press freedom violations and abuses against the journalists and media. The qualitative study is based on the responses of hundreds of press freedom experts selected by the RSF.
The World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) has been criticised for its opaque methodology and subjectivity in the rankings. Criticism has been leveled against the WPFI criteria and its perceived biases. Many countries reject its rankings for being based on perception and not on statistical data.
