US Drops in Press Freedom Over Occupy Arrests

Nation falls 27 places to 47th in world rankings
Posted Jan 25, 2012 7:13 PM CST
US Drops in Press Freedom Over Occupy Arrests
NYPD officers arrest a photojournalist, bottom right, as they clear out Occupy Wall Street activists in a private park next to Duarte Square on November 15, 2011, in New York City.   (Getty Images)

Police reaction to the various Occupy protests around the nation have tarnished the US reputation for press freedom in the eyes of Reporters Without Borders. In the group's new world rankings, the US falls 27 spots to 47th, owing to the "many arrests of journalists covering Occupy Wall Street protests." See the full rankings here.

The Huffington Post provides a roundup of the rest, with dictatorships and crackdowns on the Arab Spring accounting for the worst offenders.

  • Worst: Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Syria, Iran, China, Bahrain, Vietnam, Yemen, and Sudan.
  • Best: Finland, Norway, Estonia, Netherlands, Austria, Iceland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Cape Verde, and Canada.
(More Occupy Wall Street stories.)

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