China ranked 177th in 2019, 2020 and 2021, down from a period at 176th from 2015 to 2018. It currently rates higher only than the totalitarian countries of Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea, which for years have come in last.
Beijing “continues to take Internet censorship, surveillance and propaganda to unprecedented levels,” said the report, which annually evaluates changes to local conditions for journalists. It added: “Beijing has taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to enhance its control over online information even more.”
