Sindh Police arrest four suspects in journalist Imtiaz Mir murder case
October 28, 2025: Sindh Police arrested four suspects linked to a banned outfit in the murder of journalist Imtiaz Mir, who was shot in Karachi in September 2025.
JournalismPakistan.com | Published 8 years ago
Join our WhatsApp channel
PARIS - Press freedom has never been as threatened as it is now, in the "new post-truth era of fake news" after the election of US President Donald Trump, Reporters Without Borders warned Wednesday.
Its annual World Press Freedom Index warned of the "highly toxic" media-bashing of Trump's election campaign and Britain´s Brexit referendum.
The situation is at "a tipping point," it said bluntly.
Media freedom is being undermined by the rise in surveillance and of authoritarian strongmen across the globe, the watchdog said.
The US and Britain both slipped two places in the index to 43rd and 40th, according to the Paris-based monitoring group, known by its French initials RSF.
"Nothing seems to be checking" the erosion of liberty of the press in leading democracies, it said.
"Media freedom has never been so threatened."
Liberty of the press is in peril or in a "very serious situation" in 72 countries including Russia, India, and China, it found.
"Attacks on the media have become commonplace and strongmen are on the rise. We have reached the age of post-truth, propaganda, and suppression of freedoms -- especially in democracies," the report said.
"Donald Trump´s rise to power... and the Brexit campaign were marked by high-profile media-bashing, a highly toxic anti-media discourse that drove the world into a new era of post-truth, disinformation and fake news," it added.
Poland and Hungary came in for withering criticism in the report.
The nationalist government in Warsaw was accused of "turning public radio and TV stations into propaganda tools" and of trying to throttle independent newspapers.
"Media freedom has retreated wherever the authoritarian strongman model has triumphed," it warned.
Turkey "swung over into the authoritarian regime camp" after the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July, it said, adding bitterly that it "now distinguishes itself as the world´s biggest prison for media professionals."
Seven places ahead of Turkey, "Vladimir Putin´s Russia remains firmly entrenched in the bottom fifth of the index," in 148th place, it added.
"The rate at which democracies are approaching the tipping point is alarming for all those who understand that, if media freedom is not secure, then none of the other freedoms can be guaranteed," RSF Secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.
"Where will this downward spiral take us?" he asked.
The RSF index found that in the past year nearly two thirds of the countries had registered deterioration in their situation, while the number of countries where the media freedom situation was "good" or "fairly good" fell by more than two percent.
Norway came out top of the index with the world´s freest media.
It took over from neighboring Finland which had held the title for six years.
At the other end of the scale, North Korea took bottom place from another repressive closed state, Eritrea, which has propped up the table for a decade.
North Korea continues to keep "its population in ignorance and terror," RSF said.
"Even listening to a foreign radio broadcast can lead to a spell in a concentration camp."
China, war-torn Syria -- the deadliest country for journalists -- and Turkmenistan complete the bottom five.
Italy showed the biggest improvement, rising 25 places to 52nd place thanks to the acquittal of journalists tried in the Vatileaks II case, which exposed a scandal at the top of the Catholic Church.
Nicaragua registered the biggest fall of 17 places with the controversial re-election of President Daniel Ortega "marked by many cases of censorship, intimidation, harassment and arbitrary arrest," the RSF said.
Tanzania also saw a sharp decline. President John Magufuli "keeps tightening his grip on the media," RSF said.- AFP/Image: RSF
October 28, 2025: Sindh Police arrested four suspects linked to a banned outfit in the murder of journalist Imtiaz Mir, who was shot in Karachi in September 2025.
October 26, 2025: Riffat Ara Alvi, the mother of slain Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif, has died, ending her relentless fight for justice following his killing in Kenya in 2022.
October 25, 2025: Veteran journalists and rights activists urge authorities to quash the fabricated drug case against Matiullah Jan, calling it an attack on media freedom.
October 24, 2025: PTV journalist Najam Wali Khan faces social media backlash after calling late SP Adeel Akbar a coward and a fool following his alleged suicide in Islamabad.
October 24, 2025: JournalismPakistan.com celebrates 16 years of independent reporting and media insight. Founded in 2009, the platform has weathered censorship, cyberattacks, and financial pressures to remain a trusted space for all who love and follow the media.
October 23, 2025: PFUJ calls for the immediate appointment of an ITNE judge, warning of a serious case backlog affecting journalists and media workers seeking justice across Pakistan.
October 21, 2025: 92 News apologizes to Maryam Nawaz for falsely claiming she bought a Toshakhana watch at Rs45,000, correcting the misinformation aired in 2022.
October 20, 2025: Fake news falsely claimed Ishrat Fatima’s death, sparking outrage. Colleagues condemn digital misinformation and honor her enduring legacy.
October 29, 2025 Babar Azam's form slump reveals a psychological battle between classical artistry and modern cricket demands. Inside the mind of Pakistan's maestro, struggling to rediscover flow.
October 29, 2025 The New York Times is accepting applications for its 2025 fellowship, a one-year journalism training program for emerging reporters, editors, and visual journalists. Deadline: November 19, 2025.
October 29, 2025 CPJ calls on Turkey to release journalist Merdan Yanardag and return control of TELE1, after his arrest on espionage charges and state media takeover.
October 29, 2025 Alfred Friendly Press Partners invites exiled journalists in the US to apply for its 2026 four-week fellowship offering training, support, and a $2,000 stipend.
October 28, 2025 Harvard University opens 2026 Nieman Fellowship applications for journalists worldwide. Apply by December 1, 2025 (international) or January 31, 2026 (U.S.) to join the prestigious program.