Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
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POLITICS

The Claim

The United States was downgraded in a democracy index.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

The claim is accurate. The V-Dem Institute's 2026 Democracy Report documents a 24% one-year drop in the U.S. Liberal Democracy Index score and a rank fall from 20th to 51st place. The Century Foundation's Democracy Meter also recorded a significant decline. While other indices like Freedom House and International IDEA did not report a downgrade, the claim only states the U.S. was downgraded in "a" democracy index — which is clearly supported by multiple credible sources.

Caveats

  • Not all major democracy indices agree: Freedom House and International IDEA reported no downgrade in the U.S.'s overall status, so the finding is not universal across frameworks.
  • The EIU's 'flawed democracy' classification for the U.S. predates 2025 and should not be conflated with a new downgrade.
  • The Cato Institute argues that indices like V-Dem may overstate U.S. decline by undervaluing institutional resilience such as federalism and judicial independence.

The Receipts

  1. Democratic Backsliding Reaches Western Democracies, with U.S. Decline Unprecedented

    V-Dem Institute

  2. V-DEM Democracy Report 2026

    V-Dem Institute

  3. Democratic backsliding reaches western democracies, with U.S. decline unprecedented

    University of Gothenburg

  4. United States: Country Profile - Freedom House

    Freedom House

  5. United States - Global State of Democracy

    International IDEA

  6. The United States loses its status as a liberal democracy: 'Trump is aiming for a dictatorship'

    El País

  7. Democracy Index by Country 2026 - World Population Review

    World Population Review

  8. Democracy Index - Our World in Data

    Our World in Data

  9. Democracy Indices Overstate US Decline

    Cato Institute

  10. A Big Announcement Is Coming This Week. Americans Should Be Nervous.

    The New Republic

+ 3 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

Democracy IndexUnited States

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