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Guess where Ireland ranks in the world in terms of press freedom...

Hint: We’re doing better than countries like China and North Korea.

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Click here if you have trouble viewing the map (Reporters Without Borders)

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS have released this map today to show where countries rank in terms of press freedom across the world.

Ireland fares well, in the rankings, coming 16th in the world with countries like Finland, the Netherlands and Norway at the very top.

The countries on the map marked in black – indicating a “very serious situation” – include China, Somalia, the Syrian Arab Republic and Eritrea.

Today, Reporters Without Borders said the index “spotlights the negative impact of conflicts on freedom of information and its protagonists”.

They also said the ranking of some countries has also been affected by a “tendency to interpret national security needs in an overly broad and abusive manner to the detriment of the right to inform and be informed”.

This trend constitutes a growing threat worldwide and is even endangering freedom of information in countries regarded as democracies.

The three countries at the bottom of the index – Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea – were described as “news and information black holes and living hells for the journalists who inhabit them”.

The organisation also said countries that pride themselves on being democracies and respecting the rule of law “have not set an example”, claiming that the freedom of information is too often sacrificed “to an overly broad and abusive interpretation of national security needs”.

Read:China has blocked its citizens from reading the Guardian>

Read: Two journalists receive death threats from paramilitaries>

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144 Comments
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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Oct 26th 2017, 5:05 PM

    What are the Catalans actually at now? They just seem to be ars*ing around

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    Mute Mick Jordan
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    Oct 26th 2017, 5:45 PM

    @Franklin Roosevelt: He knows that the split between the separatists and unionists is too fine to call an election he could very well lose.

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    Mute Paul Devlin
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    Oct 26th 2017, 8:21 PM

    @Mick Jordan: well, the problem is that Abby election would be a de facto independence referendum. The separatist movement would probably win and Madrid would suspend autonomy again. They were waiting for promised guarantees from Madrid to respect any election result. Madrid refused

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Oct 26th 2017, 8:59 PM

    @Paul Devlin: I’m not sure the seperatists would win. He has pretty much clocked everything up since the day after the referendum. Has come off very indecisive and almost afraid to act.

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    Mute Paul Devlin
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    Oct 26th 2017, 9:21 PM

    @Dave O Keeffe: or unwilling to ratchet up the tension to the point of violence. That’s Madrid’s way. Every violent or coercive blow the Spanish government lands leads another section of the Catalan people to the separatist camp

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    Mute Dave O Keeffe
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    Oct 27th 2017, 2:49 PM

    @Paul Devlin: I agree, but if he wanted a result he should have gone for it two weeks ago when people were already being brutalised by Madrid.

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    Mute Deano Cracow
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    Oct 26th 2017, 5:18 PM

    He is out of his depth. Think of the Grand Old Duke of York.

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    Mute Dean Anderson
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    Oct 26th 2017, 5:30 PM

    he’s just making an eejit of himself at this stage.. I think the momentum is just gone now &the govt in Madrid must be just loving watching this now

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    Mute MK76
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    Oct 26th 2017, 5:57 PM

    FLIP-FLOP. No wonder SF claim such an affinity to this party.

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    Mute cormac o neill
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    Oct 26th 2017, 5:00 PM

    He knows they will be outcasted by Europe.. dopey stunt he played

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    Mute Franklin Roosevelt
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    Oct 26th 2017, 5:08 PM

    @cormac o neill: they’d have a few friends at first, maybe some Scandinavian and Eastern European countries. The UK if Corbyn gets elected even.

    Then the nation of Catalonia will become just the new normal and conservatives in Ireland, Britain and beyond will then pretend “Oh yeah, we were always cool with that idea”

    27
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    Mute Dog Eat Fog
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    Oct 26th 2017, 5:37 PM

    Farcical. End of.

    29
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    Mute Joseph Dempsey
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    Oct 26th 2017, 5:35 PM

    This chap is all over the place, get on with it

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    Mute Conor Sheehan
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    Oct 26th 2017, 6:28 PM

    Just declare independence already.

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    Mute La Massa
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    Oct 26th 2017, 5:44 PM

    lol. The head of the catalan fascist government seems to be Lost…

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    Mute Malachi
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    Oct 26th 2017, 6:13 PM

    @La Massa: Fascist?

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    Mute La Massa
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    Oct 26th 2017, 6:47 PM

    @Malachi: yeah, a facist disgrace. A shame for Freedom and democracy… A bad joke.

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    Mute Sandra Clifford
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    Oct 26th 2017, 7:40 PM

    Looks like he bottled it

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    Mute Rachel Didleu
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    Oct 26th 2017, 8:20 PM

    Eeny Meeny Money Mo. Catch a blackbird by the toe. If it squeals let it go eeny meaney miney mo….no election

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    Mute alphanautica
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    Oct 26th 2017, 8:26 PM

    I think he knows if he called a second election then the majority of the population would vote and the result wouldn’t be for independence.

    Last time round most Catalan’s didn’t recognise the vote as legitimate and only the pro-
    independence folk were motivated to vote.

    Bit like the Easter Rising. Supported by very few, thought at the time to be crackpots and dreamers. Yet corrected history’s warm hand has made them out to be heroes.

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    Mute Reg
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    Oct 26th 2017, 7:32 PM

    This guy doesn’t seem to know the difference between his arse and his elbow.

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