# Spain

Government actions against journalists in Spain

[RSF 2026 rank: 29th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index). World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF); rank 1 is the freest.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

Spain is in Southern Europe, Europe. The record holds 1 incident in which the government of Spain, or an official, court or legislature there, limited journalists' ability to report.

## Tactics used

- [Credential control: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=ES&tactic=credential_control), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/credential_control
- [Insult and defamation laws: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=ES&tactic=insult_and_defamation_laws), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/insult_and_defamation_laws
- [Prior restraint: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=ES&tactic=prior_restraint), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint

## Heads of government at the time

- [Francisco Franco: 1 incident](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/francisco-franco)

## Incidents by year

### 1938

| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| April 1938 | [Franco's Spain requires state permission to be a journalist under a wartime Press Law](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1938-spain-franco-press-law) | [Credential control](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/credential_control) | Silence | [Francisco Franco](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/francisco-franco) | Reversed (April 1, 1977) |

Ladders: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders. Timeline: https://thewaronnews.com/timeline/country/es.

Download incidents in Spain. CSV, JSON or Markdown. CC BY 4.0; credit "The War On News, thewaronnews.com".
- CSV: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/es?format=csv
- JSON: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/es.json
- Markdown: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/es.md

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/es. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.