U.S. President Donald Trump has appeared for the first time on a list of 33 people and entities that Reporters Without Borders (RSF) considers the greatest threats to press freedom in 2026. The list, published Monday, also includes Russian leader Vladimir Putin, among others.
RSF published the list of people and entities it holds responsible for repression of journalists and curbs on the work of independent media to mark Nov. 2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists.
According to RSF, Trump made this year’s list because of actions targeting the media during the nearly two years of his second term. The organization accuses the U.S. president of trying to subordinate journalism to political propaganda. RSF also noted that Trump’s actions go beyond rhetoric and policy decisions, because they include physical restrictions imposed on journalists.
The United States currently ranks 64th in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index.
The people and entities named as threats to media freedom include Putin, Nicaraguan co-president Daniel Ortega, the Chinese Communist Party, the Israeli armed forces and Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) drug cartel. According to RSF, the Israeli authorities continue to repress journalists in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Lebanon, while China remains the world’s largest jailer of journalists.
Argentine President Javier Milei is also on the list. RSF accuses him of stoking hostility toward the media. According to the organization, in just 47 days, from late April to early May this year, Milei posted more than 1,600 messages on X targeting the press. RSF placed U.S. billionaire Elon Musk and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in the same category. The organization described them as people who contribute to undermining the credibility of independent media and deepening distrust of journalists.
Among those RSF says use legal repression against the media are Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The list of entities applying economic pressure includes the technology companies Alphabet and Meta.
RSF Director General Thibaut Bruttin stressed that although the list is subjective, it includes people and organizations that over the past year took documented actions targeting independent media. He said the aim of the publication is to identify those responsible for the worsening state of press freedom around the world.
In previous years, RSF’s lists have included Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. (PAP)
