China, Russia Fall Further Down World Press Freedom Index
Residents look at newspapers featuring Chinese President Xi Jinping in Shanghai, China.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergChina and Vietnam have tumbled to join North Korea at the very bottom of the latest World Press Freedom Index, while Russia also moved lower.
China now languishes in 179th place on the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) index — one spot above North Korea. It was described by RSF as the the world’s biggest jailer of journalists and press freedom advocates. Russia dropped nine points to the 164th spot, with RSF pointing to attacks on the last independent media outlets amid the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. A Moscow court last month rejected an appeal by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich against his detention on allegations of espionage, a case that’s highlighted the rising pressure on journalism in Russia. The WSJ denies the allegations.