Reporters without Borders (RSF)
said Thursday it was concerned about insults aimed at Italian
journalists by the ruling anti-establishment 5-Star Movement
(M5S).
"Many Italian journalists," it said in its annual report on
press freedom, "have been openly criticised and insulted for
their work by political representatives, in particular by some
members of the M5S, who have not hesitated to call them "jackals
without value" and "prostitutes", the report said.
"For this reason, some of them (the journalists) today give
in to the temptation of self-censoring to avoid pressure on the
part of the political universe".
Italy rose from 46th to 43rd in the latest RSF press freedom
standings, overtaking the United States.
Italy had been 52nd in 2017.
The US dropped from 45th to 48th.
leading the French NGO's rankings again was Norway followed
by Finland, up two places, and Sweden, down one.
North Korea and Turkmenistan came last.
RSF added that almost 20 Italian journalists were under
police protection from the Mafia and other threats, double the
previous year.
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