India, May 24 -- Every year, the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is cited by governments, international institutions, diplomats, news organisations and civil society groups as one of the world's most influential measures of media freedom. The annual ranking assesses 180 countries and territories and has become a widely used reference point in debates around democracy, governance and civic freedoms.

In its 2026 edition, RSF said the global average score had fallen to its lowest level in the Index's 25-year history and that more than half of the world's countries now fall into its "difficult" or "very serious" categories.

But alongside debate over the rankings themselves, scrutiny has increasingly sh...