Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which tracks press freedom every year, has announced that the United States’ performance has hit a “historic low,” continuing a decade of decline.
Thursday’s report recorded a global decline in media freedom indicators in 2025, with more than half of the world’s countries classified as “challenged” or “very severe” for the first time.
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In the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, the United States remained in the “troubled” category, but dropped seven places from 57th to 64th in the world. Norway topped the list, while Eritrea came in last out of 180 countries.
Clayton Weimers, executive director of RSF’s North American office, said in a statement that the United States is facing a “press freedom crisis.”
“President Trump and his administration have waged a concerted war on press freedom since taking office, and we will be living with the consequences for years to come,” he said in a statement.
“Our message is clear: We will support independent media to protect legal rights, ensure accountability for attacks on media professionals, and restore press freedom in America.”
The report points to both the Trump administration’s policies and the widespread consolidation of U.S. media companies, which critics say opens the door to suppressing certain viewpoints.
This includes Skydance Media’s acquisition of Paramount Global, which includes CBS News. Skydance is owned by David Ellison, whose father, Larry Ellison, is a Trump confidant.
Paramount Skydance has also acquired Warner Bros., which currently owns CNN.
After all, just six companies control most media in the United States: Comcast, Walt Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Skydance, Sony, and Amazon.
President Trump has long had an adversarial relationship with journalists, but press freedom watchdogs say the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) accelerated pressure on media workers and journalists during his second term.
In March, FCC Chairman Brendan Kerr said the agency would revoke the licenses of broadcast stations that “spread misinformation or distort news” or conduct “operations that are not in the public interest” in their coverage of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran. Trump said he was “thrilled” by Carr’s remarks.
Kerr has also threatened to revoke the licenses of broadcast stations that cover President Trump’s immigration policies, a move that critics say could have a chilling effect on local news outlets.
The effort also extends to TV talk show hosts who have been threatened by the FCC over their jokes.
Most recently, Carr announced an investigation into multiple ABC channels.
The remarks came just days after Jimmy Kimmel, the network’s signature late-night show host, joked about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (WHCD).
Before the event, Kimmel quipped that first lady Melania Trump looked “glowing like a pregnant widow.”
A few days later, a gunman attempted to attack the WHCD in Washington, D.C., where President Trump was attending for the first time. The Trumps later linked Kimmel’s joke to the attack and called for Kimmel to be fired.
Kimmel said the joke was about the “age difference” between the 79-year-old president and the 56-year-old first lady and was not a call for violence.
Critics of the FCC’s move included Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who said, “I don’t believe the FCC should act as a speech police.”
The White House has repeatedly called President Trump the most “transparent” president in American history, citing his regular press conferences.
