San Salvador.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Systematic attacks on independent media persist in El Salvador, deepening a decline in press freedom under President Nayib Bukele’s administration, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Thursday.
In its 2025 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked El Salvador 135th globally, reflecting a slide of 61 places since 2020. The Paris-based organization cited an ongoing campaign of propaganda and harassment targeting critical media outlets.
“Under the presidency of Nayib Bukele, press freedom is suffering from the erosion of propaganda and systematic attacks against critical media,” the group stated in its latest report.
Artur Romeu, director of Reporters Without Borders Latin America bureau, remarked in March that El Salvador faces a “systematic problem” regarding guarantees for journalistic practice.
“The State has set up and structured a propaganda and disinformation machine, using official media outlets that should be public but instead promote the government’s positions,” Romeu said.
SEE ALSO: Nayib Bukele: El Salvador’s Controversial and Popular President
He added that Reporters Without Border’s recent observations on the ground revealed conditions “even worse than anticipated.”
The Reporters Without Borders report also underscored wider challenges for journalism across the Americas, including media concentration, fragile public information services, and precarious working conditions.
The collapse of traditional media revenue models has further weakened editorial independence as advertising dollars shift to global tech platforms.
In the 2025 index, 22 of 28 countries in the region recorded economic declines affecting press freedom.
SEE ALSO: A ‘Culture of Silence’ in El Salvador: Press Freedom Under Bukele’s Presidency
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) detailed in its most recent World Press Freedom Report that El Salvador has dropped 61 positions in the global index since 2020.
El Salvador’s ranking was 74 in 2020, 135 in 2025, and 133 in 2024, dropping two positions in one year.
According to the ranking score, countries with a score closest to 180 have the least press freedom, while those with scores closest to 0 do enjoy press freedom.
Reporters Without Borders warned that as journalism’s ability to report on public interest issues diminishes, propaganda and disinformation fill the gap, threatening democratic stability.
