According to the World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on April 30, 2026, the Netherlands ranks second in the world.
This high ranking is a source of national pride, symbolizing the absence of state censorship and the right of journalists to cover any topic. However, it also reveals a dangerous paradox: high standards of freedom of speech can sometimes become a shield for the distortion of reality and Kremlin narratives.
When authoritarian regimes destroy independent media, some Western journalists, in an attempt to present an “alternative perspective,” consciously or unconsciously become instruments in Russia’s information war against Ukraine.
Freedom of speech grants everyone the right to speak, but it does not abolish core journalistic standards, including accuracy, the separation of facts from commentary, and precision.
In the Netherlands, significant public attention was drawn to the documentary miniseries “Onze man bij de vijand”, created by Dutch journalist Thomas Erdbrink and director Roelof van Broekhoven, who visited Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied by Russia, including Mariupol, which constitutes a violation of Ukrainian law.
