RSF: Turkey Ranks 159th in 2025 Press Freedom Index Amid Ongoing Repression

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has ranked Turkey 159th out of 180 countries in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index, citing ongoing repression of journalists. While Turkey had gained seven places in the previous year due to more severe declines in neighboring countries, it has dropped one spot this year due to domestic conditions that continue to disregard media freedom. The country remains in the “very serious” category.

Historically, Turkey ranked 99th in 2002, but saw a steady decline: 151st in 2016, 155th in 2017, 157th in 2018 and 2019, 154th in 2020, 153rd in 2021, 149th in 2022, 165th in 2023, and 158th in 2024.

Erol Önderoğlu: “Turkey’s media cannot be condemned to a single voice”

RSF’s Turkey representative, Erol Önderoğlu, expressed deep concern over Turkey’s continued deterioration in the index. He noted that, as elsewhere, economic factors have significantly contributed to the country’s decline.

“State-backed discriminatory funding through advertising, arbitrary fines targeting critical outlets, and the lack of support for independent media’s digital revenue models have made the Turkish media dangerously fragile,” said Önderoğlu. “Journalism, long deprived of democratic regulations and protections, is now further weakened by economic instability. The looming threat is media monolithism.”

Five key indicators, worsening political score

The RSF Index is based on expert surveys across five indicators: political, legal, economic, socio-cultural, and safety. The political score, which reflects the degree of independence from state or political interference, declined globally—and in Turkey in particular. Turkey’s overall score dropped from 31.60 last year to 29.40, largely due to deteriorating legal and economic conditions.

Economic weakness: a major threat to press freedom

Although physical assaults on journalists are the most visible attacks on press freedom, RSF emphasizes that economic pressures are an equally severe and insidious threat. The 2025 Index shows that the economic indicator has reached an unprecedented low, tipping the global press freedom situation into “difficult” territory for the first time due to this factor alone.

Anne Bocandé: “No free press without economic independence”

RSF Publishing Director Anne Bocandé underscored the link between press freedom and stable financial environments: “There can be no free press without economic independence. When media outlets struggle financially, they may sacrifice quality to chase ratings and fall prey to oligarchs or public officials seeking influence.”

“When journalists are impoverished, they lose the tools to resist propaganda and disinformation. We must rebuild a media economy that sustains the production of reliable information—a costly but essential endeavor. While solutions exist, they must be implemented on a broad scale. Financial independence is crucial to safeguarding journalism in the public interest,” Bocandé added.

A global wave of media shutdowns

RSF found that media outlets in 160 of 180 countries (88.9%) are financially unstable. In nearly one-third of countries, economic hardship is directly leading to media closures—cases reflected in Tunisia (129th, down 11), Argentina (87th, down 21), and Greece (89th).

Even relatively well-ranked nations such as South Africa (27th) and New Zealand (16th) are not immune to these challenges. In Haiti (112th, down 18), political chaos has deeply destabilized the media economy.

Media shutdowns have forced journalists into exile in 34 countries. This is especially true in countries where economic crises compound political repression, including Nicaragua (172nd, down 9), Belarus (166th), Iran (176th), and Afghanistan (175th).

U.S. local journalism hit hardest: “information deserts” expanding

In the United States (57th, down 2), the economic indicator has declined by over 14 points in two years. Vast regions are becoming “news deserts” as local journalism collapses under financial pressure. An RSF survey across Arizona, Florida, Nevada, and Pennsylvania found that over 60% of journalists and media experts say it is “difficult to make a living as a journalist,” and 75% believe their outlets are not economically viable.

The U.S. also dropped 28 places in the social ranking, reflecting a more hostile media environment. Former President Donald Trump’s second term has worsened the outlook, with politically motivated funding cuts to U.S.-backed outlets like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. These moves left over 400 million people globally without reliable information.

Additionally, aid freezes by USAID pushed hundreds of media outlets—especially in Ukraine (62nd)—to the brink of closure.

Platform dominance and media consolidation

Dominance by tech giants (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft—GAFAM) has further weakened media economics. In 2024, advertising spending on digital platforms rose by 14% to $247.3 billion, siphoning revenue away from journalism and enabling the spread of manipulated or misleading content.

Even in countries with high rankings like Australia (29th), Canada (21st), and Finland (5th), media ownership concentration remains a serious concern. In France (25th, down 4), just eight wealthy individuals control 81% of national newspaper circulation and 95% of weekly circulation. This undermines editorial diversity, fuels self-censorship, and poses threats to journalistic independence in the face of owners’ political or business interests.

A map increasingly marked in red

RSF now categorizes 42 countries—home to more than half of the world’s population (56.7%)—as having “very serious” press freedom issues, where journalism is either nonexistent or dangerous.

In the Occupied Palestinian Territories (163rd), the Israeli military has been accused of targeting journalism over the past 18 months. At least 43 journalists have been killed while working, and the region has been subjected to severe media blackouts. Israel dropped 11 places to rank 112th.

Three East African countries—Uganda (143rd), Ethiopia (145th), and Rwanda (146th)—have all moved into the “very serious” category this year. Hong Kong (140th) has also joined China (178th), North Korea (179th), and Eritrea (180th) in the red zone. In Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan (144th) and Kazakhstan (141st) show troubling declines, while Jordan (147th) fell 15 places due to restrictive laws.