Watchdog: Media freedom has deteriorated during pandemic

<p>PARIS &mdash; There’s been a “dramatic deterioration” of press freedom since the pandemic tore across the world, Reporters Without Borders said in its annual report published Tuesday. </p>
<p>The group’s new World Press Freedom Index, which evaluated the press situations in 180 countries, painted a stark picture and concluded that 73% of the world’s nations have serious issues with media freedoms.</p>
<p>It says countries have used the coronavirus pandemic, which erupted in China in late 2019, “as grounds to block journalists’ access to information, sources and reporting in the field.”</p>
<p>This is particularly the case in Asia, the Mideast and Europe, the media group said.</p>
<p>Issues have also arisen from a drop in public trust in journalism itself. The group said 59% of people polled in 28 countries claimed that journalists “deliberately try to mislead the public by reporting information they know to be false.”</p>