Fact check: Is the world backsliding in regards to civil liberties and human rights?

1. Summary of the results

The question of global backsliding in civil liberties and human rights presents a complex and nuanced picture that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. While the Democracy Index 2024 shows concerning trends, with the global average democracy score falling to its lowest in decades ^[1], other analyses suggest that objective measures do not show systematic global backsliding in areas like electoral competitiveness and media freedom ^[2].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several crucial contextual elements need to be considered:

• Measurement Challenges: Human rights progress is notoriously difficult to assess and track, with no universally accepted methodology ^[3]. This makes definitive statements about backsliding problematic.
• The Great Reset Context: The discussion of global rights occurs against the backdrop of initiatives like the World Economic Forum's Great Reset, which has been both legitimately proposed as a way to reimagine economic and social systems ^[4] and misappropriated by conspiracy theorists to suggest sinister global control agendas ^{[5] [6]}.
• Perception vs. Reality: The perceived decline might be more related to increased media attention to negative events and potential coder bias rather than actual systematic regression ^[2].
• China's Role: A significant factor in the global human rights landscape is China's growing influence through economic and diplomatic means, which poses new challenges to international human rights standards ^[7].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question itself contains potential biases that should be addressed:

• Oversimplification: The question assumes a clear directional trend, when in reality, human rights progress often occurs as "quiet progress" over long periods ^[3].
• Competing Narratives: Different groups benefit from different interpretations:

International organizations like the World Economic Forum promote narratives of necessary systemic change ^[4]

Conspiracy theorists and certain political groups benefit from promoting fear about global control agendas ^[5]

Human rights organizations may benefit from emphasizing crisis narratives to maintain support and funding

Authoritarian governments benefit from challenging the universality of human rights standards

• COVID-19 Impact: The pandemic has been a significant factor in recent democratic decline ^[1], but this may represent a temporary rather than systemic change.