Country
Poland
Government actions against journalists in Poland
RSF 2026 rank: 27th of 180. 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.
Poland is in Eastern Europe, Europe. The record holds 3 incidents in which the government of Poland, or an official, court or legislature there, limited journalists' ability to report.
Tactics used
- Funding and ownership pressure: 2 incidents · ladder
- Detention and violence: 1 incident · ladder
- Shutdowns and blocking: 1 incident · ladder
Heads of government at the time
Incidents by year
2021
| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2021 | Poland: state oil company Orlen buys the Polska Press newspaper group | Funding and ownership pressure | Silence | Mateusz Morawiecki | Sustained (1 April 2021) |
2015
| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 December 2015 | Poland's new government gains power to replace public broadcaster leadership, and journalists are dismissed | Funding and ownership pressure | Pressure | Beata Szydlo | Sustained (31 December 2019) |
1981
| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 December 1981 | Poland's martial law government shuts nearly all newspapers and interns journalists overnight | Shutdowns and blocking | Silence | Wojciech Jaruzelski | Reversed (22 July 1983) |
Ladders: where each tactic has led · Timeline for Poland · Europe