An international media rights group said Sunday the coronavirus pandemic is being used by governments around the world to increase restrictions on press freedoms.
In a report issued to coincide with World Press Freedom Day2020, the International Press Institute concluded that in both democratic andautocratic states the “public health crisis has allowed governments to exercisecontrol over the media on the pretext of preventing the spread ofdisinformation.”It said authoritarian governments have beenabusing emergency measures to “further stifle independent media and criminalisejournalism,” while in democracies “efforts to control the public narrative andrestrict access to information around the pandemic are on the rise.”