Ghana’s celebrated press freedom status has deteriorated, pushing the country down on the ladder of the league of countries with the freest media in the world.
According to 2022 the Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders, Ghana fell from its 30th position in the global ranking in 2021 to 60th in 2022, a drop of 100% respectively.Â
That means African nations like Namibia, Niger, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Cote D’Ivoire, etc. now rank ahead of Ghanaian in press freedom.Â
We were the torchbearer of press freedom in africa only a few years ago but what truly happened over the years. Â
The fall to 60th from a polity that was ranked 22nd and 23rd only in 2015 and 2018 is a disturbing commentary on the state of press freedom, which cannot and must not be explained by COVID or other external factors.
Here is how Ghanaians reacted to this defaming and disturbing news.
• We need to share the report with Ms. Elizabeth Ohene who criticized the BBC, and her former employers for calling us out. Some things are not debatable, but in Ghana, we refuse to accept them. Ghana has been doing badly on press freedoms, and yet we can’t accept the situation, how then do we take steps to address the issue?
• It is a disturbing trend. The reputation, brand, and image of the country are being soiled and instead of arresting the situation, we rather relegated that to ground Zero, whilst our mother Ghana is at the suffering end.
• 100% drop in press freedom ranking is alarming. The government should make a conscious effort to address it and not brush it aside. Truth be told, we regret not voting for John Mahama as president.
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