Journalists all over the world are being attacked both online and offline, something Philippine media knows all too well. And based on the latest World Press Freedom Index released yesterday, it looks like things aren’t getting any better.
The 2018 study done by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked the country 133 out of 180 countries, six notches lower than last year.
This, even though there is still no record of any journalists being killed this year. Last year, the same study tagged the Philippines as “Asia’s deadliest country for the media” after four journalists were killed.
So why the drop in rankings?
According to RSF, it is because of a “growing animosity” towards journalists that is “openly encouraged” by political leaders.
Political leaders including President Rodrigo Duterte, who has slammed various media outlets publicly.
The most-affected media outlet this year was social news website Rappler, which in a span of a few months saw its license to operate revoked and was slammed with a series of legal cases including cyber libel and alleged tax violations.
Earlier this month, the government also protested against Facebook’s decision to partner with Rappler in fact-checking news shared on the platform.
“There is so much evil and deceit in this world that those of us who can, must tip the balance towards kindness and compassion,” the presidential communications office’s statement regarding the protest reads.
Duterte himself accused the website of spreading fake news for reporting that his assistant allegedly intervened in a PHP15.5 billion (approx. US$300 million) project to acquire ships for the Philippine Navy.
Many acknowledge that the country has a problem with fake news, but people differ in their definitions of what “fake news” is and where it comes from.
Many Duterte supporters mimic his statements about journalists, saying that it’s “mainstream media” that’s the problem, but his critics point out that it is actually pro-Duterte bloggers that spread false information.
The Philippines earned a global score of 42.53 in this year’s World Press Freedom Index, considered a “bad” rating by RSF.
The highest-ranked country is Norway while the lowest-ranked is North Korea.
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