64th
The United States ranked 64th in the world for press freedom in the 2026 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders. It dropped 7 places from 57th in a single year. It is the lowest ranking the U.S. has ever received.
64th globally. Down 7 places in one year. The lowest U.S. press freedom ranking ever recorded.
RSF North America Director Clayton Weimers was direct about the cause. “The US has experienced a steady decline in the RSF Index over the past decade, but President Trump is pouring gasoline on the fire.”
The U.S. now ranks below countries including Ghana, Samoa, and Namibia. The decline is not a statistical anomaly. It is part of a 10-year trajectory that accelerated sharply in 2025-2026.
What the Index Measures
RSF evaluates press freedom across five dimensions. Political context. Legal framework. Economic context. Sociocultural context. Safety. The U.S. decline registered across multiple dimensions, with the political context and safety categories showing the steepest drops.
Freedom House identified the same pattern independently. Its 2026 report cited media freedom and personal expression as areas of “the most severe deterioration over the last two decades.” The two organizations use different methodologies. They reached the same conclusion.
Global Context
The U.S. decline is part of a global crisis. Press freedom worldwide is at a 25-year low. Over half of the world’s countries now fall into the “difficult” or “very serious” categories for the first time in the history of the index.
In 2026, 13 journalists were killed worldwide. 471 are currently detained. At least 21 are held hostage.
The U.S. is not in the same category as countries that murder journalists. But it is in the same directional trend as countries that marginalize, discredit, and restrict them. The ranking does not measure whether journalists are killed. It measures whether they can do their jobs.
The Pattern
Hungary under Orban concentrated media ownership under pro-government businessmen and merged most outlets into one foundation. Turkey shuttered 131 media organizations after the 2016 coup attempt and issued arrest warrants for 89 journalists.
The U.S. method is different. No outlets were shuttered by decree. But the consolidation of media companies, the credentialing changes, the FOIA delays, the characterization of press as “the enemy of the people,” and the chilling effect on personal expression that Freedom House documented all move the needle on the same index.
A 64th ranking does not mean the press cannot function. It means the conditions under which it functions are measurably worse than in 63 other countries. And that the trajectory is downward.
Read more on the Civil Rights hub and the democracy scores brief.