How governments have limited journalists, 1900 to today.
Compare: who did what, when: detention and violence
Each row is a tactic and each column a country. A cell lists the dated incidents in which that country's government used that tactic, with the head of government at the time and the outcome. Every incident links to its sources.
Court orders RCMP to stop restricting press access at Fairy Creek logging blockades. John Horgan. Reversed. Issue of the day: The RCMP was enforcing a court injunction won by logging company Teal-Jones against protesters blocking old-growth logging roads near Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island, and had required journalists to check in and stay escorted rather than observe enforcement directly.
Minnesota State Patrol arrests CNN crew live on air in Minneapolis. Tim Walz. Reversed. Issue of the day: Protests in Minneapolis followed the police killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Jimenez's crew was reporting live on the unrest and the state's response near the site of the killing when troopers moved to clear the area at dawn on May 29.
Federal officers restrict press access to Portland protests; judge orders them to stop. Donald Trump. Reversed. Issue of the day: The federal government sent Department of Homeland Security officers to Portland in July 2020 to protect a federal courthouse during nightly protests that followed George Floyd's killing; officers' use of force against bystanders, including identified journalists, prompted the lawsuit.
Tunisia's cybercrime decree pushes jailed-journalist count to highest since 1992. Kais Saied. Sustained. Issue of the day: Decree-Law 54, issued by President Kais Saied in 2022 without a sitting parliament, criminalized spreading what authorities deem "false news" online, and by January 2025 had become the basis for jailing a record number of Tunisian journalists.
Turkish authorities detain three journalists under 'disinformation' law. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Ongoing. Issue of the day: Sardan had written about an alleged Turkish intelligence report on judicial corruption, which the government's Center for Combating Disinformation denied existed; Halk TV's Dincer Gokce had reported on people released from prison who were later linked to further crimes.
Police raid Marion County Record newsroom and publisher's home in Kansas. Laura Kelly. Reversed. Issue of the day: The Record had been investigating the driving record of local restaurant owner Kari Newell, who had accused the paper of accessing her personal information without authorization, the claim the search warrant cited as its basis.
Venezuela detains, expels and restricts journalists after disputed 2024 election. Nicolas Maduro. Sustained. Issue of the day: Venezuela's July 28, 2024 election, in which the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner without releasing detailed vote tallies opposition figures disputed, triggered protests and a surge of restrictions on the journalists covering them.
Belarus blocks Tut.by and arrests its editors as 'extremist'. Alexander Lukashenko. Sustained. Issue of the day: Tut.by had continued reporting on the government's response to protests following the disputed August 2020 presidential election that kept Alexander Lukashenko in power; authorities revoked the outlet's official media registration in January 2021.
Venezuela detains, expels and restricts journalists after disputed 2024 election. Nicolas Maduro. Sustained. Issue of the day: Venezuela's July 28, 2024 election, in which the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner without releasing detailed vote tallies opposition figures disputed, triggered protests and a surge of restrictions on the journalists covering them.
Belarus blocks Tut.by and arrests its editors as 'extremist'. Alexander Lukashenko. Sustained. Issue of the day: Tut.by had continued reporting on the government's response to protests following the disputed August 2020 presidential election that kept Alexander Lukashenko in power; authorities revoked the outlet's official media registration in January 2021.
Court orders RCMP to stop restricting press access at Fairy Creek logging blockades. John Horgan. Reversed. Issue of the day: The RCMP was enforcing a court injunction won by logging company Teal-Jones against protesters blocking old-growth logging roads near Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island, and had required journalists to check in and stay escorted rather than observe enforcement directly.
Tunisia's cybercrime decree pushes jailed-journalist count to highest since 1992. Kais Saied. Sustained. Issue of the day: Decree-Law 54, issued by President Kais Saied in 2022 without a sitting parliament, criminalized spreading what authorities deem "false news" online, and by January 2025 had become the basis for jailing a record number of Tunisian journalists.
Turkish authorities detain three journalists under 'disinformation' law. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Ongoing. Issue of the day: Sardan had written about an alleged Turkish intelligence report on judicial corruption, which the government's Center for Combating Disinformation denied existed; Halk TV's Dincer Gokce had reported on people released from prison who were later linked to further crimes.
Minneapolis police projectile permanently blinds photojournalist Linda Tirado. Jacob Frey. Sustained. Issue of the day: Tirado was documenting the police response to protests over George Floyd's killing in Minneapolis when she was struck; a federal judge later found her case was one of numerous similar reports of journalists being hit by less-lethal munitions during the same unrest.
Minnesota State Patrol arrests CNN crew live on air in Minneapolis. Tim Walz. Reversed. Issue of the day: Protests in Minneapolis followed the police killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Jimenez's crew was reporting live on the unrest and the state's response near the site of the killing when troopers moved to clear the area at dawn on May 29.
Federal officers restrict press access to Portland protests; judge orders them to stop. Donald Trump. Reversed. Issue of the day: The federal government sent Department of Homeland Security officers to Portland in July 2020 to protect a federal courthouse during nightly protests that followed George Floyd's killing; officers' use of force against bystanders, including identified journalists, prompted the lawsuit.
Police raid Marion County Record newsroom and publisher's home in Kansas. Laura Kelly. Reversed. Issue of the day: The Record had been investigating the driving record of local restaurant owner Kari Newell, who had accused the paper of accessing her personal information without authorization, the claim the search warrant cited as its basis.
Venezuela detains, expels and restricts journalists after disputed 2024 election. Nicolas Maduro. Sustained. Issue of the day: Venezuela's July 28, 2024 election, in which the National Electoral Council declared Maduro the winner without releasing detailed vote tallies opposition figures disputed, triggered protests and a surge of restrictions on the journalists covering them.
Download this comparison
CSV, JSON or Markdown. CC BY 4.0; credit "The War On News, thewaronnews.com".