Press freedom: from democratic cornerstone to political tool

This article builds on our earlier publication about the Political Press Freedom Meter 2025, which presented the overall rankings and main findings.

Progressive parties such as Volt, D66, GroenLinks–PvdA, and the Party for the Animals (PvdD) consistently score the highest on the press freedom indicators developed by Free Press Unlimited. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the lowest scores come from far-right parties such as PVV, FvD, and JA21.

Parties like PVV and FvD primarily associate press freedom with the right to say whatever one wants, but they do little to protect press freedom itself. In fact, both actively undermine trust in the free press. The PVV, for instance, wants to drastically reduce or even abolish the public broadcaster, frequently accusing journalists of “left-wing indoctrination”. The FvD spreads distrust towards media and fact-checkers and labels measures against disinformation as “government censorship”. Moreover, FvD uses its own media channels to delegitimise established journalism. In doing so, both parties contribute to a climate in which independent media are no longer seen as pillars of democracy, but as political opponents.

Centre-Right: Support in words, not in policy

The Press Freedom Meter 2025 shows that centre-right parties do little in concrete terms to protect press freedom. Parties such as the VVD, SGP, and BBB mention press freedom as a democratic value in their manifestos, but rarely translate that into policy support. The VVD, for example, scores adequately on its party programme, but poorly on its voting record regarding relevant motions.

The BBB approaches human rights with “healthy scepticism” towards international institutions such as the WHO and the UN, and presents no plans to promote human rights internationally, resulting in a low score on international engagement for press freedom. Other parties, such as JA21, pay little attention to press freedom in their programmes. Like the PVV, JA21 also advocates reducing the public broadcaster without proposing an alternative for independent news provision.

Interested in how all parties view press freedom? Donwload the the full Press Freedom Meter 2025.

A European phenomenon

This contrast between political flanks is not unique to the Netherlands. Across Europe, progressive parties are more likely to promote media pluralism, journalistic safety, and international rule of law as ways to safeguard press freedom. Populist parties, meanwhile, position themselves against established institutions and media.

In Hungary, for example, the free press is systematically undermined by financially and legally weakening critical outlets, while shaping a media system that serves government interests. In Poland, the public broadcaster has in recent years been turned into a mouthpiece for government propaganda. Although reforms were announced by the new government in 2023, full independence still seems far off. In Czechia and Italy, the position of independent media remains fragile due to the dominance of commercial broadcasters, legal pressures, and political efforts to restrict reporting, including the use of SLAPP cases.

Governments in these countries deliberately portray public media as “left-wing” to sow distrust and tighten their grip on public opinion. Ultimately, this paves the way for dismantling the entire public broadcasting system - something the PVV and FvD also propose in the Netherlands.

These examples show how the status of independent media in Europe increasingly depends on political power dynamics, and how quickly press freedom can shift from being a democratic cornerstone to a political instrument.

A growing divide: What does press freedom actually mean?

What is becoming ever more visible in Dutch elections is the gap between rhetoric and action. Many parties emphasise the importance of a free press but take little real action to defend it. As a result, the actual protection of press freedom largely falls to progressive parties.

That is troubling. When the safeguarding of press freedom is championed mainly by one side of the political spectrum, it can easily be dismissed as a partisan or “left-wing” agenda. In this way, press freedom loses its character as a shared democratic value and becomes part of the political battlefield.

At the same time, the results of the Press Freedom Meter 2025 reflect the broader political climate across Europe: (centre-)right parties interpret press freedom very differently. While progressive parties link it primarily to the independence of journalism, parties like the PVV, SGP, and FvD emphasise freedom of expression in the broadest sense.

This approach fits into an international pattern: in countries such as Italy, Poland, and Hungary, right-wing and conservative governments define press freedom as freedom of expression without interference from the state or institutions. Yet, they simultaneously undermine the credibility of independent media - with the result that the conditions for genuine, democratic press freedom come under pressure.

What is reliable information?

The debate around press freedom also reveals how sharply opinions diverge on disinformation and freedom of expression. Beneath these positions lies a fundamental question: who determines what reliable information is?

For progressive parties, the public broadcaster guarantees pluralism and factual news coverage. Far-right parties, however, see these institutions as part of the problem. Not because they deny facts, but because they perceive the producers of those facts as politically biased.

As a press freedom organisation, Free Press Unlimited (FPU) believes that journalistic media must be able to operate independently, free from political or commercial pressure. Reliable, factual information forms the basis of a healthy democracy. According to FPU, press freedom does not mean that freedom of expression includes the right to spread falsehoods.

Press freedom no longer a shared democratic value

These findings make one thing clear: press freedom is increasingly being treated as a political position rather than a self-evident part of democracy. Parties no longer define themselves primarily by their commitment to independent media, but by how press freedom fits within their ideological - and sometimes undemocratic - narrative. This means that the defence of a free press is no longer broadly supported and is therefore vulnerable to political rhetoric and populist framing. For democracy in the Netherlands, this is a worrying trend: when press freedom becomes a matter of party politics rather than a shared foundation, independent journalism - and with it democracy itself - comes under constant pressure. From other countries, we know that attacks on press freedom are often an omen of deeper democratic decline, including the erosion of judicial independence, fair elections, and other first signs of authoritarianism.