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India a part of wider trend of eroding press freedom in South Asia: report

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State of Press Freedom in South Asia

The 23rd Annual South Asia Press Freedom Report 2024-25 presents a critical analysis of the media landscape in South Asia, encompassing India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Maldives.

Key Findings

  • The report highlights that Indian media has been "shackled" with systemic strategies aimed at crippling press freedom.
  • There is a noted "growing trust deficit in media outlets" and "choking of independent websites."
  • The precarious situation of gig workers, challenged further by Artificial Intelligence (AI), is emphasized.

Country-Specific Insights

  • Pakistan: Described as an authoritarian regime in disguise, witnessing the most violent year for journalists in two decades with eight journalists killed.
  • India: The section 'India: Propaganda and the Press' discusses the proliferation of hate speech and disinformation, largely propagated by political parties' IT cells.

Challenges and Legal Environment

  • Noted an increasingly hostile legal environment in India due to the use of laws like defamation, sedition, UAPA, and PMLA to curb media freedom.
  • Reports critical of the government have led to self-censorship due to fear of legal repercussions.
  • Authoritarian efforts include media crackdowns, journalist harassment, arbitrary detentions, and raids by financial crime enforcement bodies.

Freedom of Speech and Expression

  • There is an ongoing suppression of freedom of speech under the pretexts of national security, public order, and misinformation prevention.
  • The Global Risks Report 2024 identifies manipulated information as a significant short-term global risk, with India being highly vulnerable to misinformation.

Media Industry Challenges

  • Issues like a shrinking job market, increased use of AI in content creation, declining ad revenues, and new labor codes favoring contract work are affecting the media workforce.
  • Freelance journalism is increasingly precarious due to media restructuring from mergers and acquisitions.

Opportunities in Digital Transition

  • The report acknowledges that the media's digital shift has opened up opportunities for alternative media to serve as a counterbalance to traditional media.
  • Tags :
  • Press Freedom
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