The government has welcomed Reporters Without Borders' 2022 Press Freedom Index, which shows Ghana has dropped from 30th place in 2021 to 60th place globally.
In response to the claim, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah produced and signed a statement that was shared with the Ghana News Agency in Accra, assuring the government's commitment to press freedom and journalist safety in Ghana.
The Minister stated that the study will serve as a starting point for the government to collaborate with the National Media Commission in order to reverse the trend and assist the country's press freedom grow.
It noted that the reduction in Ghana was due to a shift in methodology employed in judging press freedom in several nations throughout the world.
The government promised to work with other parties, including civil society organizations, to improve education for both state and non-state players on journalist safety.
This would assist address the report's concerns about the poor economic conditions of most journalists in the nation, as well as ongoing discussions with media groups and owners to improve the working and economic situations of journalists.
The government will also work with stakeholders to combat misinformation and the dissemination of false news, which is one of the factors contributing to Ghana's decline in press freedom. Despite the report's caution, the government stated that because of the new methodology employed in this year's research, caution should be used when comparing the 2022 ranks and scores to those of 2021.
Ghana's drop, as well as that of other countries such as the Netherlands, which fell from fifth place in 2021 to 28th place this year, was due to a change in methodology, according to the government.
"As a result of this scenario, four of the top ten nations in 2021 (Netherlands, Jamaica, Switzerland, and New Zealand) have slipped out of the top ten in the year under review."
It's worth noting that two additional characteristics, the Economic Context and Journalist Safety, had an impact on Ghana's drop in ranking, with the country scoring 47.22 percent and 62.25 percent, respectively.
According to the report, Ghana fared better in terms of ensuring the safety of journalists (62.25 percent) than in terms of economic factors that influence media work (47.22 percent), which are fueled by low salaries for journalists and the financial insolvency of some media houses, making some of them economically unviable.
When it comes to the protection of journalists, it's important to remember that non-State actors can have a role in determining press freedom, according to the government.
"It's also notable that the new research takes into account the effects of opinion media, propaganda, misinformation, and false news on press freedom rankings in impacted nations."
"This is due to rising political and social tensions, which have resulted in information distortions and the dissemination of fake news, notably on social media platforms," it stated.
RSE developed a new methodology for the 2022 report, which takes into account the following topics: Legal Framework and Justice System, Technological Censorship and Surveillance, Disinformation and Propaganda, Arbitrary Detentions and Proceedings, Independence and Pluralism, Models and Good Practices, Media Sustainability, and Violence Against Journalists.
Ghana scored highly in the following categories, according to the five characteristics used in the evaluation: Legal Framework (81.42 percent) and Socio-cultural Context (81.42 percent) (79.64 percent ).
Ghana also scored above average and relatively high in Political Context (66.61 percent) and Journalist Safety (66.61 percent) (62.25 percent ).
Economic Context (47.22 percent), which refers to the economic conditions of journalists and the financial viability of media organizations, was the only criteria in which Ghana scored below average, according to the report.
Ghana's performance in these areas resulted in an average score of 67.43 percent and a ranking of 60th place.
The legal framework and justice system were among the factors considered in the report.