Press Freedom: Costa Rica Remains the “Exception” of the Americas
May 3 is World Press Freedom Day, as was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1993. Every year, Reporters Without Borders (RSF, its acronym) observes this day by publishing its World Press Freedom Index, which this year marks its 20th edition.
During these 20 years assessing the state of press freedom around the world, RSF has found that Costa Rica has been the country in the Americas that most consistently appears in the top 10 countries with highest press freedom scores. In the past few years, it has been the only American country in the top 10.
“Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are two highly respected principles in Costa Rica – an exception in Latin America, a region plagued by corruption, insecurity and daily violence against the press,” says the NGO. Here, “journalists do not face harassment, threats or imprisonment from the government, and they are not monitored.”
This year’s World Press Freedom Index is no exception: Costa Rica holds position number 8 out of 180 countries concerning press freedom. Because of a new methodology used to compile the index, this Central American country stepped back three positions year-on-year, having being 5th in the 2021 ranking.
Nevertheless, Costa Rica remains the “exception” of the Americas, according to RSF. The NGO that aims to safeguard the freedom of information has called the country the Latin American’s “star student” of press freedom, noting that the rest of the region is going through “an increasingly toxic environment.”
Costa Rica is one of the only eight countries around the world that have a “good” press freedom situation, meaning that they have a global score above 85 points. Every single one of the other seven countries in that select group are from the European continent, reflecting how the Americas are backing down on freedom of information and freedom of speech.
To see the next American country in the list you have to go to position number 19, given to Canada. Other countries from the continent that appear in the top 50 are Trinidad & Tobago (25), Argentina (29), Dominican Republic (30), Guyana (34), the United States (42), Uruguay (44), and Belize (47).
Press freedom in the Americas
RSF sees two big problems for press freedom in the Americas, both related to violence. In the south of the continent, violence against journalists and the press in general comes in physical form, while in the north it comes in the way of rhetoric and populist attacks against the media.
In Nicaragua, for example, in the context of the reelection of Daniel Ortega, “the last bastions of the independent press came under fire, and the vast majority of independent journalists, threatened with abusive prosecution, were forced to leave the country,” the report noted.
In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele “has played a dangerous game and has stepped up attacks and threats against journalists who criticize his administration, thus creating an image of the press as an enemy of the people.” In Mexico, at least seven journalists were murdered in 2021, so it remains “the world’s deadliest country for the media.”
The United States has made some progress since Joe Biden took office, but “chronic issues impacting journalists remain unaddressed,” such as “the disappearance of local newspapers, the systematic polarization of the media, and the erosion of journalism by digital platforms amid a climate of animosity and aggression towards journalists.”
Canada has also seen “hostile treatment” against reporters, as well as “denial of access, death threats, and harassment while covering the ‘Freedom Convoy,’ a demonstration against the government’s health measures.” Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana were the few countries in the Americas that made some progress in 2021.
The world enters “a new era of polarization”
The 2022 World Press Freedom Index means bad news for reporters and the media all around the world. RSF claims that this is “a new era of polarization.” The results of this year’s report reveal “a two-fold increase in polarization amplified by information chaos,” meaning that media polarization is fueling divisions within and between countries.
This is, the NGO says, the effect of “a globalized and unregulated online information space that encourages fake news and propaganda.” A perfect example of this would be the Russian invasion of Ukraine, since “the physical conflict was preceded by a propaganda war.” Ukraine holds the 106th position in the index — Russia is 155th.
A record number of 28 countries are classified as “very bad” in the 2022 index, while 12 countries are on its red list. On the other hand, the trio of Nordic countries at the top of the report (Norway, Denmark, and Sweden) “continues to serve as a democratic model where freedom of expression flourishes.”
“Urgent decisions are needed in response to these issues, promoting a New Deal for Journalism, as proposed by the Forum on Information and Democracy, and adopting an appropriate legal framework, with a system to protect democratic online information spaces,” said RSF Secretary-General, Christophe Deloire.
The United Nations observes this year’s World Press Freedom Day with the theme “journalism under digital siege.” Its aim is to spotlight “the multiple ways in which journalism is endangered by surveillance and digitally-mediated attacks on journalists, and the consequences of all this on public trust in digital communications.”
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) said this observance is “a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics.”
For us at Outlier Legal Services, press freedom is fundamental in any civilized society, and freedom of information and freedom of expression are values that characterize any outliers in Costa Rica and anywhere else in the world.