Greece has dropped to 89th place out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), down from 88th in 2024. Its overall score has declined to 55.37, highlighting a deeper crisis fueled by economic instability, political interference, and ongoing surveillance scandals, says RSF.

Greece’s Press Freedom Crisis Deepens

Since 2021, Greece has faced a systemic press freedom crisis, with key incidents remaining unresolved, highlights RSF. The wiretapping of journalists by the National Intelligence Service (EYP) and the unpunished murder of veteran crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz sent shockwaves through the media landscape in the country, with the later drawing a sharp condemnation of the European Parliament itself.

Despite constitutional protections, SLAPP lawsuits, harsh defamation laws, and vague “ethics” legislation have stifled investigative reporting, say RSF.

Meanwhile, a recent piece by Politico reveals allegations that a communications firm with political connections to the ruling political party New Democracy, called Blue Skies, may have acted as a covert propaganda and funding vehicle for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government.  Blue Skies is reportedly tasked with orchestrating online disinformation campaigns in support of the government, further complicating the public’s access to reliable information.

Against this backdrop, RSF ranked Greece 89th, measuring the country’s performance against five key indicators: political, economic, legislative, social, and security.

As an assessment of how economic conditions affect the media landscape in a country, RSF has ranked Greece 127 out of 180.  The degree of political influence on the media puts Greece in 94th place and the degree with which societal attitudes and pressures impact media put the country in 124th place.

Safety remains a concern, with RSF noting that, “The police regularly resort to violence and arbitrary bans to obstruct journalistic coverage of demonstrations and the refugee crisis on the Greek islands. Journalists have been the victims of physical attacks during sporting events and in front of their homes.”

Public trust in Greek media is among the lowest in Europe, and female journalists frequently face sexism, adds RSF.

Commenting on the annual RSF reports in the past, Mitsotakis himself has taken issue with RSF’s findings, saying at a public event that, “I think there is no issue on press freedom in Greece. We have a vibrant press, journalists can write anything they want,” said the PM, who went so far as to call the RSF report “crap.”

Global Press Freedom Also in Freefall

Greece’s decline reflects a global trend. For the first time in the Index’s history, press freedom is classified as “bad” in half the world’s countries. Fewer than 1% of people globally live in nations where journalism is fully free.

According to RSF, the most dangerous threat is now economic pressure. In over 85% of countries, media outlets are unable to achieve financial stability. In nearly one-third, they’ve been forced to close or operate in exile.

The 2025 Index shows that 42 countries are now marked in “deep red” on RSF’s global map—six more than last year—including Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Hong Kong, where media freedoms increasingly mirror China’s authoritarian model.

In the United States, President Donald Trump’s second term has included attacks on the press, funding cuts to Voice of America, and a freeze on international media aid, affecting over 400 million people worldwide.

Tech Giants, Media Consolidation Add to the Crisis

RSF also points to the role of tech giants, which dominate ad revenue streams that once sustained journalism. Media ownership consolidation and politically controlled advertising in countries like Russia, Hungary, and even Australia or Canada are weakening editorial independence. “Without economic independence, there is no free press. Without a free press, our right to reliable information is denied—and democracy suffers,” RSF warns.