Global Press Freedom Hits Historic Low as Autocracy Advances

Global press freedom has reached a critical low, with over half of the world's countries now facing difficult or very serious conditions for journalists—a historic decline in 25 years of monitoring. While Nordic nations like Norway, Finland, and Sweden remain exceptional bastions of free media, their isolation underscores a broader global shift toward autocracy and government control over information. This widespread erosion of press freedom threatens democratic institutions worldwide, as censorship becomes increasingly normalized.