According to the 2026 World Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), press freedom has reached its lowest point in the last quarter of a century<\/b>. As the world observes World Press Freedom Day (3 May), the BBC highlights the challenges in accessing news in various countries and speaks with individuals involved in circumventing media restrictions.<\/p>\n
Fiona Crack, Global Director, BBC News, states: \u201cWe know that democratic values are under threat globally<\/b>, and this pressure coincides with a reduction in press freedom. Actions taken by authorities worldwide hinder journalists from performing their duties and withhold information from people, contributing to international instability and uncertainty. The BBC World Service is committed to serving audiences who need us most and finding innovative ways to reach them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The BBC World Service is actively combating reductions in media freedom by providing content to audiences through diverse and innovative methods, thereby challenging some of the restrictions imposed on populations and BBC staff.<\/p>\n
In Iran, amidst nationwide internet shutdowns, a clandestine network has emerged, smuggling Starlink satellite technology into the country. The BBC World Service spoke to \u201cSahand\u201d (a pseudonym), who claims to have sent over a dozen contraband items to enable internet access since January.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf even one extra person is able to access the internet, I think it\u2019s successful and it\u2019s worth it,\u201d Sahand says. The Starlink devices Sahand sends are considered one of the most reliable ways to bypass the shutdowns. Last year, the Iranian government enacted legislation making the use, purchase, or sale of Starlink devices punishable by up to two years in prison. Sahand expresses concern about severe consequences if identified, fearing repercussions for his contacts in Iran.<\/p>\n
Many Iranians bypass restrictions by using virtual private networks (VPNs)<\/b> to access the internet and share independent information. BBC News Persian has the largest audience of any international media inside Iran. At the start of the 2026 protests, BBC News Persian reached 27.5 million people weekly on Instagram<\/b>, nearly half of Iran’s adult internet population. Following the internet shutdown, audiences in the country sharply declined.<\/p>\n
In response to the internet shutdown, BBC News Persian launched a temporary emergency lifeline radio program and established a weekly newsletter. The team also extended their television news coverage, offering increased live news to meet the demand for information. Staff working for BBC News Persian report being threatened, harassed, and abused for their reporting. Last year saw an alarming increase in harassment, with family members in Iran reportedly taken in for repeated interrogation and their passports confiscated.<\/p>\n
Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, access to BBC News Russian in Russia has been severely restricted, with the service\u2019s website and most social media platforms blocked. This initially led to a 95% audience drop across Russia<\/b>. However, numbers have since recovered significantly as the service dynamically works to reach its audiences through alternative platforms.<\/p>\n
Similar to Iranians, audiences in Russia now use VPNs to access BBC content on the BBC News Russian website and social platforms like Telegram, YouTube, and Instagram. BBC News Russian podcasts were banned on all platforms in Russia in 2022, prompting a move to YouTube. Following the Russian authorities\u2019 intentional slowdown of YouTube in 2024, podcast output has also been made available on a dedicated Substack page. BBC News Russian journalists also produce a weekday newsletter with mirror links, enabling access to BBC content without the need for a VPN. For many, their work carries personal risks. Several members of BBC News Russian staff have been labeled \u2018Foreign Agents\u2019 by Russia and now face the risk of criminal prosecution.<\/p>\n
Belarus experienced an unprecedented post-election media crackdown in 2020. According to the independent Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), 22 media workers are currently imprisoned<\/b>. Over the past six years, almost all independent publications and their social media pages have been blocked, banned, and even declared extremist, effectively making it a crime for audiences inside Belarus to engage with them.<\/p>\n
BBC News Russian journalists are no longer able to operate in Belarus. An extremism designation has been imposed on BBC News Russian content, and all BBC sites have been blocked. As of March 2026, it is illegal for people in Belarus to share BBC News Russian content. BBC News Russian is pivoting to social media to ensure audiences in Belarus continue to have access to independent news from the BBC.<\/p>\n
#PressFreedom #MediaFreedom #BBCWorldService #Journalism #InternetAccess #Starlink #VPN #HumanRights #GlobalNews #DigitalRights<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
According to the 2026 World Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), press freedom has reached its lowest point in the last quarter of a century. As the world observes World Press Freedom Day (3 May), the BBC highlights the challenges in accessing news in various countries and speaks with individuals involved in circumventing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iran_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanak.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}