{"id":223382,"date":"2025-04-24T13:56:44","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T17:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=223382"},"modified":"2025-08-08T16:14:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T20:14:18","slug":"free-expression-seen-as-important-globally-but-not-everyone-thinks-their-country-has-press-speech-and-internet-freedoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2025\/04\/24\/free-expression-seen-as-important-globally-but-not-everyone-thinks-their-country-has-press-speech-and-internet-freedoms\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Expression Seen as Important Globally, but Not Everyone Thinks Their Country Has Press, Speech and Internet Freedoms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Made-up news and information seen as pervasive across the globe<\/h2>\n\n\n
\"\"
(PeopleImages\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
How we did this<\/summary>\n

This Pew Research Center analysis focuses on public opinion of free speech, freedom of the press and freedom on the internet in 35 countries across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East-North Africa region, North America and sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Views of the importance of these various freedoms are examined in the context of long-term trend data. The report also explores people\u2019s perceptions of how free they are to express themselves and use the internet without restrictions and how free the media are to report the news, as well as people\u2019s concerns about the spread of misinformation in their country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For non-U.S. data, this report draws on nationally representative surveys of 40,494 adults conducted from Jan. 5 to May 22, 2024. All surveys were conducted over the phone with adults in Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Surveys were conducted face-to-face in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Turkey. In Australia, we used a mixed-mode probability-based online panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the United States, we surveyed 3,600 adults from April 1 to April 7, 2024; 5,123 adults from Feb. 24 to March 2, 2025; and 3,605 adults from March 24 to March 30, 2025. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel (ATP), a group of people recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses who have agreed to take surveys regularly. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Surveys were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors. Read more about the ATP\u2019s methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To compare educational groups across countries, we standardize education levels based on the UN\u2019s International Standard Classification of Education<\/a> (ISCED).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to 2024, combined totals were based on rounded topline figures. For all reports beginning in 2024, totals are based on unrounded topline figures, so combined totals might be different than in previous years. Refer to the 2024 topline to see our new rounding procedures applied to past years\u2019 data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the questions used<\/a> for the report, along with responses<\/a>, and the survey methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Amid global debates about press freedom, free speech and freedom on the internet, new surveys of 35 countries show there is a disconnect between how people rate the importance of these freedoms and how free they actually feel to express themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Overall, a median of 61% of adults across 35 countries say having freedom of the press<\/strong> in their country is very important, with another 23% saying it is somewhat important. But only 28% say the media are completely free<\/em> to report the news in their country, with an additional 38% saying the media are somewhat free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

What is a freedom gap?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We use the term \u201cpress freedom gap\u201d to describe the difference between the share of people who say free media without censorship are important to have in their country, and the share who say media in their country are actually free to report the news. Similarly, we use \u201cspeech freedom gap\u201d and \u201cinternet freedom gap\u201d in reference to questions on those topics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, a median of 59% globally say having freedom of speech<\/strong> in their country is very important, while 31% say speech is completely free where they live. This so-called \u201cfreedom gap<\/a>\u201d \u2013 where the share of people who value free speech is larger than the share who believe they have it \u2013 appears in 31 of the 35 countries surveyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the subject of freedom on the internet,<\/strong> a median of 55% say the ability to use the internet freely is very important, while 50% say they are completely free to use the internet in their country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Majorities in over half the nations surveyed also say made-up news and information is a very big problem<\/strong> in their country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerns about fabricated or manipulated news are pervasive across all regions but generally more intense in countries classified as middle-income<\/a>. Still, majorities see made-up news and information as a very big problem in the high-income countries of South Korea (73%), Chile (72%), Greece (65%), France (63%), Germany (62%), Spain (61%) and Japan (59%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(We surveyed 17 middle-income countries and 18 high-income countries. Refer to the <\/em>Appendix<\/em><\/a> for a classification of these nations.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, in every country surveyed except Singapore, a majority of adults say that made-up news and information is at least a moderately big problem<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These perceptions are tied to people\u2019s overall satisfaction with democracy. In many of the countries surveyed, those who express the most concern over made-up news and information are less likely to say they are satisfied with the state of their nation\u2019s democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We mostly observe this pattern in high-income countries like Canada, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Sweden and the United Kingdom \u2013 several of which have seen an overall decline in satisfaction with democracy<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Dissatisfaction with democracy during the 2024 year of global elections<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Voters in more than 60 countries went to the polls in 2024. In many of these countries, incumbents lost or suffered major electoral setbacks. Frustration with the way representative democracy is working played a key role in these elections. For more, read our data essay \u201cGlobal Elections in 2024: What We Learned in a Year of Political Disruption<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Views of the importance of free speech, free press and internet freedom are also linked with concerns about fabricated news. In many countries, people who say these freedoms are very important are more likely to consider made-up news and information a very big problem where they live. For more, read Chapter 1<\/a> of this report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rest of this overview explores:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n