A new continental survey by Afrobarometer has found that while Africans still broadly support media freedom, the supply of that freedom is shrinking with Botswana recording the largest decline in perceived media freedom across the continent.
The report, titled ‘Demand for civic space holds strong across Africa as supply of freedoms wanes’, shows a continent divided on whether the media operates freely. It warns of a sustained contraction in civic space including growing state control over both traditional and digital platforms.
Across 38 countries surveyed, a slight majority of respondents (53%) say their media is either ‘somewhat’ or ‘completely free’ to report without government interference. However, a significant minority -43%-believe their media is ‘not very free’ or ‘not at all free.’
The report notes: ‘Across the 38 surveyed countries, Africans are divided on whether their media is free.’
Perceptions of full media freedom remain uneven across the continent. Liberia (47%) and Zambia (45%) record the highest shares of citizens who believe the media is ‘completely free,’ while fewer than one in ten respondents hold that view in countries such as Nigeria (9%), Eswatini (7%), Cameroon (7%), Togo (7%), and Congo-Brazzaville (6%).
More worrying for press freedom advocates is the downward trend over time. The report finds that in 30 countries with comparable data since 2019, perceptions of media freedom have fallen by an average of four percentage points.
It states: ‘Across 30 countries… perceptions of media freedom have declined by 4 percentage points on average.’
Only five countries recorded significant gains, led by Liberia (+58 points), Gabon (+24), and Zambia (+22). In contrast, 20 countries recorded declines in perceived media freedom, signalling what researchers describe as a shrinking civic environment.
Among the most affected are Guinea (-34), Lesotho (-22), Nigeria (-22), and Botswana (-20), placing Botswana among the worst performers on the continent.
The report suggests that Botswana’s 20-point drop represents the largest recorded decline in perceived media freedom in Africa over the study period and raises concerns about growing public scepticism over press independence.
While the report does not attribute causes directly, the broader findings link declining media freedom perceptions to increasing government influence, regulatory pressure and constraints on investigative reporting.
The report also highlights a paradox in Africa’s civic transformation. While internet access has expanded rapidly initially raising expectations of stronger civic engagement governments are increasingly using digital tools to control information flows.
It warns: ‘Governments have increasingly extended restrictions on civic space into the digital sphere, with Internet shutdowns emerging as the go-to tool for limiting civic mobilisation.’
These shutdowns, the report adds, are especially common during elections, when authorities seek to limit dissent and manage public narratives.
Despite these challenges, the survey finds strong public endorsement of media freedom and its watchdog role in society. However, the gap between public expectations and lived reality continues to widen. Respondents in Botswana were asked how free the media is to report without government interference. Results show: completely free: 14%, somewhat free: 37%, not very free: 27% and not at all free: 14%
Meanwhile, section 12 of the Constitution of Botswana guarantees freedom of expression and recognises the media’s vital watchdog role in society. These freedoms are not privileges granted at the discretion of political leaders, but fundamental democratic rights that the state has a constitutional obligation to uphold and protect.
The 2024 general elections raised expectations of a reset in government-media relations, but over a year and a half later, that optimism is slowly fading away. One may wonder whether it was too early to celebrate the establishment of the Media Review Task Team in 2025, which was mandated to examine the legal framework, media sustainability and structural constraints affecting the industry. Its formation had signalled what many believed was a genuine commitment to reform and had inspired renewed optimism within the media fraternity.
To date, however, the long-awaited 2025 review report remains unpublished, creating further uncertainty within the sector.
In recent months, journalists have been subjected to sustained public attacks, including accusations of misinformation, unethical conduct and poor professionalism. Some of these attacks, originating from or amplified by individuals occupying senior public office, have legitimised online harassment and normalised hostility towards the media.
Continuous public statements dismissing ‘90% of media reports as fake’ risk fuelling hostility and self-censorship. Botswana’s global press freedom ranking has also dropped significantly, from 42nd in 2015 to 81st in 2025, a development that remains a major concern not only for advocacy bodies but for the media industry at large.
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Botswana Chapter in the recent months noted with grave concern that these developments risk reversing hard-won gains made under the new government. The organisation stated that ‘government’s early commitments to openness and reform now appear to be undermined by actions and rhetoric that are increasingly hostile to independent journalism.’
MISA Botswana further called on government to immediately reaffirm its commitment to press freedom and editorial independence; protect journalists, particularly those working within state media, from political interference and intimidation; ensure transparency regarding any personnel decisions linked to editorial content; and accelerate meaningful legal and policy reforms to safeguard media freedom and sustainability.
Earlier this month, as the world commemorated World Press Freedom Day on May 3, Botswana did not hold any commemoration events, something MISA Botswana also criticised. The advocacy body expressed concern over government’s failure to support media-led commemorations, noting that such support had been customary in previous years but did not materialise this year. MISA Botswana expressed that World Press Freedom Day 2026 was meant to be more symbolic, as it would have prompted decisive action beginning with the immediate release of the Media Law Review Task Team report and renewed commitment to safeguarding editorial independence.
MISA Botswana further noted the growing polarisation within the media fraternity, particularly the apparent attempts to accord preferential treatment to one media structure over another. ‘This undermines the principle that both MISA Botswana and the Botswana Editors Forum are critical pillars meant to serve the collective interests of the media sector, not political expediency,’ reads the MISA Botswana statement.