Compare: who did what, when: funding and ownership pressure

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.

24 incidents, 6 tactics, 14 countries.

Tactics by country
Tactic	Argentina	Cambodia	Ecuador	Egypt	El Salvador	Georgia	Hungary	Malaysia	Poland	Russia	Serbia	Slovakia	Tanzania	United States
Licensing and closure of outlets	March 4, 2024 Milei's government shuts down Argentina's state news agency Telam. Javier Milei. Sustained. Issue of the day: Milei had campaigned against what he called wasteful and politically one-sided state spending, and Telam, founded in 1945, had long been associated with the governments of the Kirchner political movement he defeated in the 2023 election.	September 4, 2017 Cambodia's government forces the closure of The Cambodia Daily with a disputed multimillion-dollar tax bill. Hun Sen. Sustained. Issue of the day: Preparations for Cambodia's 2018 general election and a wider government campaign against independent media and civil-society groups seen as sympathetic to the opposition.		May 24, 1960 Egypt's Nasser government nationalizes every newspaper and magazine in the country. Gamal Abdel Nasser. Ongoing. Issue of the day: Nasser's government was consolidating state control over Egypt's economy and institutions in the years following the 1952 revolution, and extended that control to the press as an instrument of its nationalist program.			December 21, 2010 Hungary's parliament gives a government-appointed media council power to fine outlets for unbalanced coverage. Viktor Orban. Sustained. Issue of the day: The incoming Fidesz government's broader effort, after its April 2010 election win, to restructure Hungary's state institutions, including media regulation.			April 14, 2001 State-controlled Gazprom takes formal control of Russia's independent NTV television network. Vladimir Putin. Sustained. Issue of the day: NTV's critical coverage of Russia's second war in Chechnya and of the government of President Vladimir Putin, who had taken office in May 2000.		June 20, 2024 Slovakia's parliament dissolves public broadcaster RTVS, replaces it with STVR. Robert Fico. Sustained. Issue of the day: Fico's government accused RTVS of one-sided, activist coverage against it, a complaint it made after RTVS reporting the government considered unfavorable during Fico's return to power in late 2023.	March 16, 2018 Tanzania requires bloggers and online publishers to register and pay an annual government fee. John Magufuli. Unknown. Issue of the day: A broader push under President Magufuli's government to regulate online speech and civic activity ahead of Tanzania's 2020 general election cycle.	September 17, 2025 United States: Federal Communications Commission chairman's remarks and the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, September 2025. Donald Trump. Reversed. Issue of the day: Jimmy Kimmel's on-air remarks about speculation over the motives of the person who killed Charlie Kirk, according to NPR.
Insult and defamation laws			June 25, 2013 Ecuador's Organic Communication Law creates a regulator that issues hundreds of sanctions against journalists and outlets. Rafael Correa. Reversed. Issue of the day: President Correa's long-running public disputes with Ecuadorian media over their coverage of his government, including a separate 2011 libel case against the newspaper El Universo.								October 20, 1998 Serbia's Public Information Act lets courts fine independent newspapers into financial danger. Slobodan Milosevic. Reversed. Issue of the day: Independent Serbian media's coverage of NATO's escalating confrontation with Yugoslavia over Kosovo through 1998 and 1999.
Surveillance and subpoenas								September 20, 1998 Malaysia pressures domestic media and monitors foreign correspondents after arresting former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim. Mahathir Mohamad. Unknown. Issue of the day: The September 1998 dismissal, arrest and prosecution of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim on corruption and sodomy charges.						August 16, 1971 Nixon White House compiles an enemies list naming journalists for official pressure. Richard Nixon. Reversed. Issue of the day: Nixon's aides were reacting to sustained critical coverage and commentary from named journalists during his first term, including Mary McGrory's columns, which an internal notation described as habitually critical to the president.
Funding and ownership pressure	March 4, 2024 Milei's government shuts down Argentina's state news agency Telam. Javier Milei. Sustained. Issue of the day: Milei had campaigned against what he called wasteful and politically one-sided state spending, and Telam, founded in 1945, had long been associated with the governments of the Kirchner political movement he defeated in the 2023 election.	September 4, 2017 Cambodia's government forces the closure of The Cambodia Daily with a disputed multimillion-dollar tax bill. Hun Sen. Sustained. Issue of the day: Preparations for Cambodia's 2018 general election and a wider government campaign against independent media and civil-society groups seen as sympathetic to the opposition.	June 25, 2013 Ecuador's Organic Communication Law creates a regulator that issues hundreds of sanctions against journalists and outlets. Rafael Correa. Reversed. Issue of the day: President Correa's long-running public disputes with Ecuadorian media over their coverage of his government, including a separate 2011 libel case against the newspaper El Universo.	May 24, 1960 Egypt's Nasser government nationalizes every newspaper and magazine in the country. Gamal Abdel Nasser. Ongoing. Issue of the day: Nasser's government was consolidating state control over Egypt's economy and institutions in the years following the 1952 revolution, and extended that control to the press as an instrument of its nationalist program.	April 2026 El Salvador: freeze on assets of shareholders in El Faro's parent company, February to April 2026. Nayib Bukele. Sustained	May 28, 2024 Georgia enacts 'foreign influence' law requiring media to register as foreign-backed. Irakli Kobakhidze. Sustained. Issue of the day: The governing Georgian Dream party framed the law as protecting Georgian sovereignty against foreign-funded groups it accused of trying to organize unrest, at a time when the party also faced growing opposition ahead of Georgia's 2024 parliamentary election.	December 21, 2010 Hungary's parliament gives a government-appointed media council power to fine outlets for unbalanced coverage. Viktor Orban. Sustained. Issue of the day: The incoming Fidesz government's broader effort, after its April 2010 election win, to restructure Hungary's state institutions, including media regulation. December 20, 2023 Hungary: National Sovereignty Protection Act and Sovereignty Protection Office, December 2023. Viktor Orban. Reversed	September 20, 1998 Malaysia pressures domestic media and monitors foreign correspondents after arresting former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim. Mahathir Mohamad. Unknown. Issue of the day: The September 1998 dismissal, arrest and prosecution of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim on corruption and sodomy charges.	December 31, 2015 Poland's new government gains power to replace public broadcaster leadership, and journalists are dismissed. Beata Szydlo. Sustained. Issue of the day: Law and Justice's decisive October 2015 election win and its stated aim of overhauling public institutions it viewed as insufficiently accountable to voters.	April 14, 2001 State-controlled Gazprom takes formal control of Russia's independent NTV television network. Vladimir Putin. Sustained. Issue of the day: NTV's critical coverage of Russia's second war in Chechnya and of the government of President Vladimir Putin, who had taken office in May 2000. August 4, 2026 Russia: law on asset freezes and service denials for exiled "foreign agents", August 2026. Vladimir Putin. Sustained	October 20, 1998 Serbia's Public Information Act lets courts fine independent newspapers into financial danger. Slobodan Milosevic. Reversed. Issue of the day: Independent Serbian media's coverage of NATO's escalating confrontation with Yugoslavia over Kosovo through 1998 and 1999.	June 20, 2024 Slovakia's parliament dissolves public broadcaster RTVS, replaces it with STVR. Robert Fico. Sustained. Issue of the day: Fico's government accused RTVS of one-sided, activist coverage against it, a complaint it made after RTVS reporting the government considered unfavorable during Fico's return to power in late 2023.	March 16, 2018 Tanzania requires bloggers and online publishers to register and pay an annual government fee. John Magufuli. Unknown. Issue of the day: A broader push under President Magufuli's government to regulate online speech and civic activity ahead of Tanzania's 2020 general election cycle.	August 16, 1971 Nixon White House compiles an enemies list naming journalists for official pressure. Richard Nixon. Reversed. Issue of the day: Nixon's aides were reacting to sustained critical coverage and commentary from named journalists during his first term, including Mary McGrory's columns, which an internal notation described as habitually critical to the president. January 29, 2025 FCC chair reopens 'news distortion' complaints against CBS and NBC. Donald Trump. Ongoing. Issue of the day: The CBS complaint concerned 60 Minutes' October 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris; the NBC complaint, filed in April 2025, concerned coverage of the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. March 15, 2025 United States: U.S. Agency for Global Media action to shut down Voice of America operations, March 2025. Donald Trump. Ongoing April 22, 2025 60 Minutes executive producer resigns, citing lost editorial independence. Donald Trump. Sustained. Issue of the day: Paramount was defending CBS against Trump's lawsuit over 60 Minutes' editing of a Kamala Harris interview while seeking Federal Communications Commission approval to sell the company to Skydance, a deal Trump's approval-holding regulator could delay or block. May 1, 2025 United States: Executive Order 14290 directing an end to federal funding for NPR and PBS, May 2025. Donald Trump. Unknown July 18, 2025 Congress cuts $1.1 billion in federal funding for public broadcasting. Donald Trump. Sustained. Issue of the day: The rescission followed years of conservative criticism that NPR and PBS produced one-sided coverage, and came weeks after President Trump's May 2025 executive order directing agencies to stop funding the two networks. July 24, 2025 FCC approves Paramount-Skydance merger after CBS ombudsman and anti-DEI pledges. Donald Trump. Sustained. Issue of the day: The approval came weeks after Paramount paid $16 million to settle President Trump's lawsuit over 60 Minutes' editing of a Harris interview, a settlement critics said was made to smooth the path for the FCC's review of the Skydance sale. September 17, 2025 United States: Federal Communications Commission chairman's remarks and the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, September 2025. Donald Trump. Reversed. Issue of the day: Jimmy Kimmel's on-air remarks about speculation over the motives of the person who killed Charlie Kirk, according to NPR. April 28, 2026 Appeals court orders FCC to respond to challenge over 'news distortion' policy. Donald Trump. Ongoing. Issue of the day: Under Chair Brendan Carr, the FCC had used its news distortion policy to open or reopen inquiries into CBS, NBC and ABC's election-season coverage, prompting the petitioners to argue the unresolved policy itself had become a tool of pressure on broadcasters.
Lawsuits against the press														April 22, 2025 60 Minutes executive producer resigns, citing lost editorial independence. Donald Trump. Sustained. Issue of the day: Paramount was defending CBS against Trump's lawsuit over 60 Minutes' editing of a Kamala Harris interview while seeking Federal Communications Commission approval to sell the company to Skydance, a deal Trump's approval-holding regulator could delay or block.
Official labels						May 28, 2024 Georgia enacts 'foreign influence' law requiring media to register as foreign-backed. Irakli Kobakhidze. Sustained. Issue of the day: The governing Georgian Dream party framed the law as protecting Georgian sovereignty against foreign-funded groups it accused of trying to organize unrest, at a time when the party also faced growing opposition ahead of Georgia's 2024 parliamentary election.	December 20, 2023 Hungary: National Sovereignty Protection Act and Sovereignty Protection Office, December 2023. Viktor Orban. Reversed			August 4, 2026 Russia: law on asset freezes and service denials for exiled "foreign agents", August 2026. Vladimir Putin. Sustained				January 29, 2025 FCC chair reopens 'news distortion' complaints against CBS and NBC. Donald Trump. Ongoing. Issue of the day: The CBS complaint concerned 60 Minutes' October 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris; the NBC complaint, filed in April 2025, concerned coverage of the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

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