New Delhi: A new analysis from Pew Research Center, based on surveys conducted in 35 countries, reveals a striking gap between the value people place on free expression, open internet access, and uncensored news, and how free they actually feel it is in practice. The report also reveals widespread concern about fake news and the spread of misinformation across the globe.
The analysis, based on nationally representative surveys conducted primarily from January to May 2024, with additional data from the US in February and March 2025, explores public opinion on freedom of speech, the press, and the internet.
The analysis finds that while majorities in most countries consider these freedoms important, significantly fewer people feel that they are fully free in practice.
Key Findings regarding perceived importance vs actual freedom
Press freedom: A median of 61 percent of adults across the 35 countries surveyed say having freedom of the press is very important, with another 23 percent calling it somewhat important. However, only a median of 28 percent believe the media are completely free to report the news in their country, and 38 percent say they are somewhat free.
This results in significant “press freedom gaps” in 30 out of 35 countries, where the share valuing press freedom as important is larger than the share perceiving the media as free. The largest gap is in Chile.
Speech freedom: A median of 59 percent globally consider freedom of speech very important, and 27 percent say it is somewhat important. Yet, only a median of 31 percent say speech is completely free where they live, and 37 percent say it is somewhat free. This “speech freedom gap” is evident in 31 of the 35 countries surveyed.
Internet Freedom: Regarding freedom on the internet, a median of 55 percent say the ability to use it freely is very important, while 28 percent say it is somewhat important. A larger share—a median of 50 percent—say they are completely free to use the internet in their country, with 38 percent saying they are somewhat free.
This leads to less pronounced gaps compared to press and speech freedom, and even “reverse gaps” in 17 countries, where more people perceive internet freedom than deem it important.
For data retrieved from outside the US, this report uses surveys of 40,494 adults conducted from 5 January to 22 May, 2024.
The surveys were done via phone calls in countries such as Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Whereas, the interviews were conducted in-person in Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, and Mexico.
The report draws on various survey methodologies, including phone, face-to-face, and online interviews, utilising the American Trends Panel for US data collection. The study emphasises the importance of standardising education levels for cross-country comparisons and notes changes in data aggregation since 2024.
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US findings
In the US, 92 percent of adults consider freedom of the press important, but only 79 percent say the US press is completely or somewhat free. For speech freedom, 92 percent say it is important, while 86 percent feel they are able to speak freely.
On internet freedom, nearly identical percentages of Americans view internet use without censorship as very important (91 percent) and believe individuals should have complete freedom to use the internet without restrictions (92 percent).
But there has been a slight uptick in the share who say free speech is very important (from 56 percent in 2024 to 62 percent this year) and the share who say this about internet freedom (from 54 percent to 60 percent).
Over half of Americans—54 percent—believe people in the US are completely free to use the internet, an increase from 40 percent in 2024, while 32 percent now feel people are completely free to express their opinions, up from 28 percent in 2024. Views on press freedom have remained largely unchanged.
According to the data, Republicans are now more likely to believe Americans have full freedom in these areas compared to 2024, while Democrats are less likely to think so.
Concerns over fake news
The report shows that most people in 35 countries are very worried about fake or altered news and information, with over 80 percent saying it’s a major issue. This concern is uniformly high in the sub-Saharan African and Latin American countries surveyed.
In ‘high-income’ countries like South Korea, Chile, Greece, France, Germany, Spain, and Japan as well, most people see fake news as a serious issue.
However, Singapore stands as an exception, with only 19 percent seeing it as a considerable problem. In every other country surveyed except Singapore, the majority of adults believe fake news is at least a moderately big problem.
According to the report, we can infer that the concerns about free press, free speech, and internet freedom seem to be directly related to the perception of fake news as a serious problem in many countries.
Diving further into the report, we can further take away that perceptions of Freedom of citizens is directly Linked to Satisfaction with Democracy. The analysis finds a strong connection between how free people feel and their satisfaction with democracy. In most countries surveyed, those who believe their country’s media, speech, or internet use is completely free are more likely to express satisfaction with the way their democracy is working.
The flip side of this statement would be true for this as well. Dissatisfaction with democracy is tied to concerns and reservations about made-up or manipulated news.
In 22 of 35 countries, people who take the issue of baseless news spreading seriously are less likely to be satisfied with the state of their nation’s democracy or their respective forms of government. This pattern is especially pronounced in countries like Hungary, Greece, Canada, and Israel.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: Role of money in politics, illegal immigration among Americans’ key concerns under Trump 2.0—Pew