From Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2018 report put together by Freedom House President Michael J. Abramowitz and team. Freedom House is a world renowned “independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world”:

Democracy is under assault and in retreat around the globe, a crisis that has intensified as America’s democratic standards erode at an accelerating pace, according to Freedom in the World 2018, the latest edition of the annual report on political rights and civil liberties, released today by Freedom House.

Some key facts from the report:

• Seventy-one countries suffered net declines in political rights and civil liberties, with only 35 registering gains.
• Over the period since the 12-year global slide began in 2006, 113 countries have seen a net decline, and only 62 have experienced a net improvement.

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A new report released by the independent watchdog organization Freedom House says that democratic principles such as election integrity and freedom of the press are weakening globally for the 12th consecutive year. “There are more countries — in the case of 2017, many more countries — that showed declines in freedom than showed improvements,” says Arch…