WASHINGTON _ The United States has slipped again among countries in an annual ranking of freedom of the press, according to a study that says a "climate of hatred" is growing worldwide toward the news media.
Citing the Trump administration among other nations' governments, the international advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said on Wednesday, "More and more democratically elected leaders no longer see the media as part of democracy's essential underpinning, but as an adversary to which they openly display their aversion."
The United States fell to 45th place from 43rd last year, out of 180 countries that the reporters' organization ranks. Norway is in first place for the second consecutive year, and North Korea is last, as it has been for years.
Asked about the latest report, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the idea that President Donald Trump has limited Americans' freedom of expression is "ridiculous."
The United States' new position puts it behind Romania in terms of press freedoms.
"The violent anti-press rhetoric from the White House has been coupled with an increase in the number of press freedom violations at the local level," Reporters Without Borders said. It noted that American journalists have run the risk of arrest as they cover protests or ask officials tough questions.
The annual index considers criteria such as pluralism, independence and legal protections for media, according to the group. It said the forces that erode press freedom and threaten democracy include despots and war; suppression of dissent and criticism; a rise in propaganda; internet censorship; and government moves to sue, threaten or imprison reporters.
