The pandemic deepens weaknesses in freedom of the press and expression
Miami (November 9, 2020) .- The pandemic has accentuated the weaknesses in terms of freedom of the press and expression in the hemisphere, as shown by the Chapultepec Index, a new measurement that the Inter American Press Association (IAPA) carried out in 22 countries in the region.
Due to Covid-19, in many countries governments have imposed restrictions on access to public information, as in the case of Costa Rica. In Guatemala, violence against journalists has increased and in Chile, the media and journalists suffered restrictions in their mobilization. In Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, the worst evaluated countries, health sector sources are muzzled by the control imposed on information on public health.
In no country in the Americas was the media immune from the financial crisis because of the pandemic.
IAPA is a non-profit entity dedicated to the defense and promotion of freedom of the press and of expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 publications from the western hemisphere; and is based in Miami, Florida, United States.
