Giorgi Harsanyi;
European Union; Press Freedom Survey; Freedom of the press list;
2024-05-03 14:27:00
The organization's report specifically highlights that the Sovereignty Protection Law, which came into force last year, enables Orbán's government to discredit and harass independent Hungarian media.
In the ranking of EU member states, Hungary occupies the third worst place in the 2024 Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders on Friday. Before Malta and Greece only.
In the poll published on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, which scored the countries of the world from 0 to 100, Hungary received an almost unchanged rating (62.98 points) this year, which was enough for 67th place on the global list, up from 72nd place a year ago. 2023. Compared to However, according to Reporters Without Borders, this leap forward can be explained primarily by significant declines in other countries, especially Bosnia and Kosovo.
The International Organization of Journalists reported that the press freedom situation in Hungary is stagnant. He was the first to submit the report in this country transparent It indicates that we obtained the highest number of points (85.97) in the security category, which examines the extent to which journalists are exposed to physical or other attacks and intimidation in the country in question. The lowest score (38.55) was achieved in the political category, which measures political pressure, the independence of the media, and how those in power deal with the press. The report specifically highlights that the Sovereignty Protection Law that came into effect last year enables Orbán's government to discredit and harass independent Hungarian media.
At the same time, Reporters Without Borders writes that under Viktor Orbán, “independent media have learned to survive, and even to become economically stronger, and enjoy the support of a part of society.”
Overall, Hungary is placed in the problem category (along with the majority of countries), but several other countries from Africa are ahead of it. In another approach, we get almost the same result as Argentina or the Eastern Caribbean countries. Only eight countries were in the “good” category, that is, where press freedom is in good standing, and they are all in Europe: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, Portugal and Ireland.
