US ranks 5th among most dangerous countries for journalists

The United States has turned into one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.

The US ranked fifth, along with India, as one of the deadliest countries for journalists behind Afghanistan, Syria, Mexico, Yemen and India, respectively in the same order, The Hill on Tuesday cited a Paris-based media watchdog as saying.

International monitoring organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in its annual report for 2018 that it is the first time that the US has been listed among the most lethal countries for journalists.

“The world’s five deadliest countries for journalists include three – India, Mexico, and for the first time the United States where journalists were killed in cold blood although these countries were not at war or in conflict,” the report noted.

It said six journalists were killed in the US this year -- four were killed in June after a shooting in Maryland’s Capital Gazette newspaper and two others died in North Carolina in May while covering a hurricane.

In total, 80 journalists died across the world in 2018, 348 were currently in prison and 60 held as hostage, according to the report found. .

Most of the deceased reporters had been deliberately targeted, according to the report.

The report noted that more journalists were killed, abused and subjected to violence in 2018 than in any other year on record.

Reporters were facing an unprecedented level of hostility, according to the report.

'Unscrupulous politicians'

RSF secretary-general, Christophe Deloire, said that violence against journalists had reached an unprecedented level this year, warning that the "situation is now critical.”

“The hatred of journalists that is voiced, and sometimes very openly proclaimed, by unscrupulous politicians, religious leaders and businessmen has tragic consequences on the ground, and has been reflected in this disturbing increase in violations against journalists,” he noted. 

In one of the most widely-covered deadly incidents this year, Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known Washington Post columnist, was killed in the kingdom’s diplomatic mission in Istanbul, Turkey in October.

Based on CIA reports run by international media, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of Khashoggi, who was a critic of the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia.

Time magazine recently named the demised journalist as "person of the year".

PressTV-Khashoggi named TIME Person of the Year

Time magazine names slain Saudi dissident journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, as its “Person of the Year” for 2018.

US President Donald Trump is another fiery adversary of the media who has often railed against "fake news", blasting journalists and calling their work "a stain on America". 

Experts say that Trump's hostile remarks could exacerbate their situation. warning it could "lead to violence" against journalists.

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