Reporters Without Borders Says Donald Trump’s Attacks Cut U.S. Press Freedom to 64th

Reporters Without Borders said the United States reached its lowest level in a quarter of a century in its World Press Freedom Index, dropping seven places to 64th.

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The index, published on April 30 ahead of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, described the U.S. as having a “problematic” status and placed it “between Botswana and Panama.”

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RSF said the deterioration reflects “systematic” attacks by U.S.

President Donald Trump on the press, and it linked the decline to the detention and deportation of Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara.

RSF also cited “the administration’s sweeping cuts to the U.S.

Agency for Global Media,” saying those cuts had ripple effects beyond the United States.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists reported that the United States revoked tourist visas for five board members at La Nación, Costa Rica’s most influential newspaper, in what critics called an “unprecedented” measure.

ICIJ quoted La Nación CEO and chairman of the board of Grupo Nación Pedro Abreu saying, “One of the media outlets even stated our names, our dates of birth, and the expiration dates of the visas,” adding that he saw the revocation on a U.S. government website.

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ICIJ also quoted La Nación editor in chief Fabrice Le Lous saying, “And there is one common denominator among them: that they were given absolutely no reason or explanation.”

The same report said the State Department did not respond to questions sent by ICIJ and that Costa Rica is the only country where the U.S. government targeted owners and executives at media outlets.

RSF warned that for the first time in the index’s 25-year history, more than half of the world’s countries are in “difficult” or “very serious” categories for press freedom, and it said the average score across the 180 ranked countries is the lowest ever recorded.

In its description of the United States, RSF said Donald Trump’s approach to the press shifted from rhetoric into systematic policy, citing “the detention and deportation of Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara” and “the administration’s sweeping cuts to the U.S.

Agency for Global Media.”

RSF also said the cuts led to the effective closure or scaling back of international broadcasters including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Asia.

In parallel, RSF’s executive director Thibaut Bruttin told franceinfo that “Everywhere, everyone pores over the manual of Donald Trump” against journalists, framing the U.S. decline as part of a broader international dynamic.