# The 1950s

Government actions against journalists, 1950 to 1959

2 recorded incidents dated 1950 to 1959, by continent and region.

## Africa

| Date | Incident | Country | Tactic | 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) | [South Africa](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/za) ([RSF 2026 rank: 21st of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Prior restraint](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/prior_restraint) | [Daniel François Malan](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/daniel-francois-malan) | Reversed (February 2, 1990) |

## North America

| Date | Incident | Country | Tactic | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| November 1955 | [United States Senate panel subpoenas dozens of New York Times journalists over Communist ties](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1955-us-eastland-subcommittee-subpoenas-new-york-times) | [United States](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/us) ([RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Surveillance and subpoenas](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/surveillance_and_subpoenas) | [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/dwight-d-eisenhower) | Sustained (December 1, 1956) |

Download the 1950s. CSV, JSON or Markdown. CC BY 4.0; credit "The War On News, thewaronnews.com".
- CSV: https://thewaronnews.com/eras/1950s?format=csv
- JSON: https://thewaronnews.com/eras/1950s.json
- Markdown: https://thewaronnews.com/eras/1950s.md

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/eras/1950s. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.