Kosovo marks an alarming decline of 19 places in the Reporters Without Borders Index
The annual media freedom index published by Reporters Without Borders ranks Kosovo 75th in the world, which is 19 places lower than last year's ranking of 56th.
The world's largest organization for media freedom has provided several reasons for the decline of media freedom in our country.
"Even if the media succeed in holding politicians accountable, journalists continue to be the targets of political attacks. The ineffective media regulator, IMC, is trying to reform itself. The biggest TV channel, Klan Kosova, has been subjected to administrative harassment from the government, which had also threatened public broadcaster RTK’s independence with the election of a close ally of the ruling party as its director. Serbian-language media, which are under pressure from Serbian political forces, have complained of discrimination in access to public information, particularly in their language, which is that of the constitutional minority.", it is said in the report.
The report also mentions physical attacks during tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as an increase in SLAPP lawsuits against journalists.
"Although journalists are trusted by society, independent media, and investigative journalists are often the targets of insults and fake news on social media. They are unfairly accused of “collaborating with the enemy”, the rhetoric used by political and religious groups.", the report concludes.
You can access the full report by clicking on the following link: https://rsf.org/en/country-kosovo.
