Greece is bad for journalists, according to a new report published by Politico.
For the second consecutive year, Greece came last among EU countries in the 2023 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index which published today Wednesday.
Greece is now ranked 107th, just behind Qatar and Thailand, and performing worse than countries such as Nigeria, Lesotho and Haiti, the press freedom group's rankings show.
Greece improved its position by one point compared to last year, but its overall score fell slightly to 55,2 out of 100, down from 55,5 in 2022. Norway, Ireland, Denmark and Sweden are the best in class, with scores ranging from 88 to 95 points.
The main reasons for Greece's lackluster score include the arbitrary surveillance of journalists by intelligence agencies using the Predator spyware — what RSF called the "biggest violation of press freedom in the European Union in 2022" — but also government media interference, abusive lawsuits and inadequate legal protection.
RSF's Press Freedom Index ranks countries from 0 to 100 (the highest possible level of media freedom).
People laugh. Especially with North Cyprus, what can we say.