Press Freedom: AI Fingered For Fake News Threatening Journalism - RSF
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Reporters Without Borders, RSF, says journalism is facing challenges from propaganda and fake news, with the aid of AI technology and a lack of oversight from tech companies.
The annual ranking by RSF showed that the environment for journalists was rated as "bad" in 70% of the 180 countries, while only eight countries were considered "good."
Norway and North Korea were ranked as the best and worst countries respectively for press freedom.
The report highlighted the numerous forms of misinformation that are "drowning out" trustworthy news and how the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence is exacerbating the problem.
Christophe Deloire, RSF's secretary-general, said that "reliable information is drowned in a deluge of disinformation." RSF criticized Elon Musk's new paid-for verification system on Twitter, saying that it was pushing "an arbitrary, payment-based approach to information to the extreme."
The report also highlighted the role of political actors in spreading disinformation or propaganda campaigns, with Russia, India, and China being the most prominent examples.
RSF supported a consortium of investigative journalists working on "Forbidden Stories," which uncovered the activities of Israeli firm "Team Jorge" that specializes in producing disinformation.
The report also showed that the United States fell three places to 45th, mainly due to the worsening security situation for journalists.
The Middle East and North Africa remain the most dangerous region for journalists, while Europe is the safest, although attacks on journalists in Germany saw it drop five places.
The ranking is however, compiled using data on abuses committed against journalists combined with surveys sent to journalists, academics, and human rights activists.
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