Italy's press freedom ranking drops again amid ‘growing political interference'
Italy ranked 49th in the 2025 edition – down by three places compared to 2024 and behind all other Western European countries.
Only six EU member states (Romania, Croatia, Malta, Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece) scored lower than Italy.
Norway, Estonia and the Netherlands topped the table for press freedom, with Britain and the US ranking 20th and 57th respectively.
'Press freedom in Italy continues to be threatened by mafia organisations, particularly in the south of the country,' RSF said.
'Journalists who investigate organised crime and corruption are systematically threatened and sometimes subjected to physical violence,' the NGO added.
Around 20 Italian reporters, including Gomorrah author Roberto Saviano, currently live under permanent police protection after they were targeted with threats or attacks.
Besides intimidation from mafia groups, journalists in Italy also 'condemn growing political interference', warning of 'attempts by politicians to obstruct their freedom to cover judicial cases,' RSF said.
The report specifically pointed to a 'gag law' prohibiting the disclosure of provisional detention orders until the end of the related preliminary court hearings.
This effectively blocks reporting on the early stages of criminal investigations.
The law, which came into force in March 2024 following a proposal from PM Giorgia Meloni's ruling coalition, has sparked harsh criticism from Italian journalists and academics.
Alessandra Costante, the head of national press union FNSI, has called it 'a freedom-killing measure' that undermines press freedom, as well as 'individual liberties".
RSF also noted that many reporters in Italy 'give in to self-censorship, either to conform to their news organisation's editorial line, or to avoid a defamation suit'.
Defamation through the media (including social media platforms) continues to be a criminal offence in Italy, with convictions carrying prison sentences of up to three years.
Threats of a defamation lawsuit are often used by powerful public figures as a way to prevent journalists from publishing critical or unfavourable stories.
Italy's drop in the ranking came at 'an unprecedented, critical low' in press freedom across the globe, according to RSF.
The decline, RSF noted, is driven by growing economic pressure, as 'today's news media are caught between preserving their editorial independence and ensuring their economic survival'.
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