Press freedom in the Americas has continued to deteriorate, falling 14 points in the World Press Freedom Index since 2022 — the same downward trend seen in the world’s two most difficult regions for journalism, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Journalism in this zone has long been strained due to the economic fragility of the media market and, in Latin America, persistent violence against the press. Now, in 2026, there is a marked trend of authorities across the region adding to these pressures through hostile rhetoric, legal and administrative constraints, restricted access to public information and the instrumentalisation of legal systems to quash reporting. Journalism is being criminalised, muzzled by gag lawsuits and, in countries plagued by cartel violence, made ever more dangerous by the lack of protection for news workers.

In the United States (which ranks 64th out of 180 countries and territories) journalists who were already fighting against economic headwinds and dealing with a crisis of public trust — among other challenges — now also contend with President Donald Trump’s systematic weaponisation of state institutions, including funding cuts to public broadcasters such as NPR and PBS, political interference in media ownership, and politically motivated investigations targeting disfavoured journalists and media outlets. Since his return to office,

So, we're now in the middle third of countries. Fabulous.