# South Africa

Government actions against journalists in South Africa

[RSF 2026 rank: 21st 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.

South Africa is in Southern Africa, Africa. The record holds 2 incidents in which the government of South Africa, or an official, court or legislature there, limited journalists' ability to report.

## Tactics used

- [Access bans: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=ZA&tactic=access_ban), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/access_ban
- [Detention and violence: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=ZA&tactic=detention_and_violence), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/detention_and_violence
- [Licensing and closure of outlets: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=ZA&tactic=outlet_licensing), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/outlet_licensing
- [Prior restraint: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=ZA&tactic=prior_restraint), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint
- [Shutdowns and blocking: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=ZA&tactic=shutdowns_and_blocking), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/shutdowns_and_blocking

## Heads of government at the time

- [Daniel François Malan: 1 incident](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/daniel-francois-malan)
- [P. W. Botha: 1 incident](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/p-w-botha)

## Incidents by year

### 1985

| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| November 2, 1985 | [South Africa bans television and photographic coverage of unrest under a state of emergency](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1985-south-africa-state-of-emergency-media-ban) | [Shutdowns and blocking](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/shutdowns_and_blocking) | Silence | [P. W. Botha](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/p-w-botha) | Reversed (June 1, 1990) |

### 1950

| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| March 17, 1950 | [South Africa's Suppression of Communism Act lets the government ban publications and restrict individuals](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1950-south-africa-suppression-of-communism-act) | [Prior restraint](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/prior_restraint) | Silence | [Daniel François Malan](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/daniel-francois-malan) | Reversed (February 2, 1990) |

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

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

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