Reporters Without Borders lists EU heads of government for the first time.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has for the first time included a head of government from the European Union on its regular list of “enemies of press freedom”: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. “Since Viktor Orban and his party Fidesz came to power in 2010, they have gradually brought Hungary’s media landscape under their control,” the Berlin Journalists’ Union decried on Monday.
“Public service broadcasters are based in the state media holding company MTVA, which also includes the only Hungarian news agency, MTI,” RSF wrote in a press release. “Regional Press has been wholly owned by Urban-friendly entrepreneurs since summer 2017. In fall 2018, nearly 500 government-linked media companies were merged into a holding company in order to centrally coordinate their reporting.”
The list of “enemies of press freedom” includes 37 heads of state and government who exemplify the brutal suppression of press freedom. In addition to Urban, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly incited against the media, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as well as Hong Kong Prime Minister Carrie Lam: “In China’s Special Administrative Region, the Apple Daily, a symbol of press freedom, began to work in June to adapt. Long-standing representatives on the list include Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping, Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
“New names have been added in all regions of the world. Their methods serve the same purpose: to prevent critical reporting at all costs,” said Christian Meyer, Managing Director of Reporters Without Borders. This affects journalists who courageously pursue their research, as well as a population that is denied access to independent information.
