Finland ranks 2nd on Press Freedom Index for 3 years in a row

Finland has been ranked second in the 2021 World Press Index by Reporters Sans Borders (RSF) for the third consecutive year.

Norway has topped the index like in last year, while Sweden was placed in the third position, followed by Denmark, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Jamaica, New Zealand, Portugal, and Switzerland.

Eritrea has ended up at the bottom of the list of 180 countries, followed by North Korea, Turkmenistan, China, Djibouti, Vietnam, Iran, Syria, Laos, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia.

Finland’s media, however, are threatened by the social media platforms, said the RSF, adding that the platforms take the mainstream media’s advertising and undermine their other funding methods.

They host false information sites and user groups that amplify disinformation. And, without taking appropriate, responsible measures, they tolerate users who pursue and target journalists with hate speech.

Many of their users share false information and conspiracy theories and attack the traditional media with the aim of discrediting them in the eyes of the general public.

In 2020, the government proposed legislation intended to protect the media and journalists from the consequences of online hate speech. It remains to be seen what real impact it could have.

The courts find it hard to coherently interpret the existing legislation restricting online hate speech, especially in cases involving the police or journalists.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a positive impact on the media landscape inasmuch as public’s trust in Finland’s leading media outlets has increased, along with its trust in verified information and science.

But, because of the pandemic’s impact on their finances, some media outlets have had to lay off staff members, while freelancers are having difficulty finding work.

The 2021 World Press Freedom Index compiled by the Reporters Sans Borders (RSF) shows the press freedom situation in 180 countries and territories annually. It shows that journalism, which is arguably the best vaccine against the virus of disinformation, is totally blocked or seriously impeded in 73 countries and constrained in 59 others, which together represent 73% of the countries evaluated.

“Journalism is the best vaccine against disinformation,” said RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire.

“Unfortunately, its production and distribution are too often blocked by political, economic, technological, and, sometimes, even cultural factors. In response to the virility of disinformation across borders, on digital platforms, and via social media, journalism provides the most effective means of ensuring that public debate is based on a diverse range of established facts,” added Deloire.