{
  "title": "Incidents in Africa, stage: pressure",
  "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?continent=africa&stage=pressure&view=cards",
  "filters": {
    "continent": "africa",
    "stage": "pressure",
    "view": "cards"
  },
  "sort": "date",
  "count": 4,
  "page": 1,
  "pages": 1,
  "per_page": 50,
  "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.",
  "facets": {
    "country": [
      {
        "value": "EG",
        "label": "Egypt",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 169,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 169th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "TZ",
        "label": "Tanzania",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 117,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 117th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      },
      {
        "value": "ZW",
        "label": "Zimbabwe",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 124,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      }
    ],
    "continent": [
      {
        "value": "africa",
        "label": "Africa"
      }
    ],
    "tactic": [
      {
        "value": "outlet_licensing",
        "label": "Licensing and closure of outlets",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "disinformation_labeling",
        "label": "Official labels",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "prior_restraint",
        "label": "Prior restraint",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "funding_and_ownership_pressure",
        "label": "Funding and ownership pressure",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "stage": [
      {
        "value": "pressure",
        "label": "Pressure",
        "count": 4
      }
    ],
    "level": [
      {
        "value": "national",
        "label": "National",
        "count": 4
      }
    ],
    "outcome": [
      {
        "value": "unknown",
        "label": "Unknown",
        "count": 3
      },
      {
        "value": "ongoing",
        "label": "Ongoing",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "leader": [
      {
        "value": "abdel-fattah-el-sisi",
        "label": "Abdel Fattah el-Sisi"
      },
      {
        "value": "john-magufuli",
        "label": "John Magufuli"
      },
      {
        "value": "robert-mugabe",
        "label": "Robert Mugabe"
      }
    ],
    "era": [
      {
        "value": "2010s",
        "label": "2010s",
        "count": 3
      },
      {
        "value": "2000s",
        "label": "2000s",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "year": [
      {
        "value": "2002",
        "label": "2002",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "2018",
        "label": "2018",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "2019",
        "label": "2019",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "has_case": [
      {
        "value": "0",
        "label": "without a court case",
        "count": 4
      }
    ]
  },
  "results": [
    {
      "slug": "2019-egypt-media-law-blocks-al-mashhad",
      "title": "Egypt: media law used to fine and block news site al-Mashhad",
      "occurred_on": "2019-03-22",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "EG",
      "country_name": "Egypt",
      "continent": "africa",
      "jurisdiction": "EG",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling",
      "tactics": [
        "disinformation_labeling"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "abdel-fattah-el-sisi",
      "leader_name": "Abdel Fattah el-Sisi",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.",
      "outcome": "unknown",
      "outcome_on": "2019-05-07",
      "outcome_note": "Al-Mashhad's website was still inaccessible in Egypt as of May 7, 2019, the last date given in the source reviewed.",
      "stage": "pressure",
      "ladder_note": "Egyptian law classifies any social media account over five thousand followers as a media outlet subject to state fines and blocking, and Egypt used it to fine and block a news site for weeks; no United States \"fake news\" designation can fine or block an outlet.",
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 169,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 169th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2010s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Under a 2018 law that treats any social media account with more than 5,000 followers as a media outlet, Egypt's media regulator fined news site al-Mashhad and ordered internet providers to block it for spreading what it called false news.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2019-egypt-media-law-blocks-al-mashhad"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2018-egypt-scmr-license-requirement-al-manassa",
      "title": "Egypt: a license requirement leaves an independent news site unable to operate legally for years",
      "occurred_on": "2018-10-01",
      "occurred_on_precision": "month",
      "country": "EG",
      "country_name": "Egypt",
      "continent": "africa",
      "jurisdiction": "EG",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint",
      "tactics": [
        "prior_restraint"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "abdel-fattah-el-sisi",
      "leader_name": "Abdel Fattah el-Sisi",
      "issue_of_the_day": "The licensing requirement operated alongside a 2018 cybercrime law that made it a crime to use certain software tools without the council's permission, according to Al-Manassa's editor.",
      "outcome": "ongoing",
      "outcome_on": "2020-10-26",
      "outcome_note": "Al-Manassa's editor said the outlet's 2018 license application had received no response as of the October 2020 interview.",
      "stage": "pressure",
      "ladder_note": "A national council required a license before a news site could operate at all and left the application unanswered for years rather than approving, denying or fining it.",
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 169,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 169th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2010s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Egypt's Supreme Council for Media Regulation required news websites to obtain a government license to operate, and independent outlet Al-Manassa's application, filed in 2018, went unanswered for more than two years.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-egypt-scmr-license-requirement-al-manassa"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2018-tanzania-online-content-regulations",
      "title": "Tanzania requires bloggers and online publishers to register and pay an annual government fee",
      "occurred_on": "2018-03-16",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "TZ",
      "country_name": "Tanzania",
      "continent": "africa",
      "jurisdiction": "TZ",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing",
      "tactics": [
        "funding_and_ownership_pressure",
        "outlet_licensing"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "john-magufuli",
      "leader_name": "John Magufuli",
      "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.",
      "outcome": "unknown",
      "outcome_on": "2018-04-12",
      "outcome_note": "A court granted media and rights groups an injunction against the fee in April 2018 while their challenge proceeded; the sources reviewed do not establish the challenge's final outcome.",
      "stage": "pressure",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 117,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 117th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2010s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Tanzania's government, under President John Magufuli, issued regulations requiring anyone running a blog or website with user content to register with the telecoms regulator and pay an annual fee reported at roughly $930, with vaguely worded content bans.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-tanzania-online-content-regulations"
    },
    {
      "slug": "2002-zimbabwe-aippa-media-licensing",
      "title": "Zimbabwe enacts a law requiring all journalists and media houses to hold government licenses",
      "occurred_on": "2002-03-15",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "ZW",
      "country_name": "Zimbabwe",
      "continent": "africa",
      "jurisdiction": "ZW",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing",
      "tactics": [
        "outlet_licensing"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "robert-mugabe",
      "leader_name": "Robert Mugabe",
      "issue_of_the_day": "Zimbabwe's contested March 2002 presidential election, in which President Mugabe faced international criticism over the vote's conduct.",
      "outcome": "unknown",
      "outcome_on": null,
      "outcome_note": "The record reviewed documents a 2007 amendment easing individual accreditation but does not establish to day precision when AIPPA's licensing framework was repealed.",
      "stage": "pressure",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 124,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 124th of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2000s",
      "granularity": "anchor",
      "status": "historical",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Zimbabwe's parliament passed the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), requiring every journalist and media company to obtain a government license renewed every two years, weeks before a closely contested 2002 presidential election.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2002-zimbabwe-aippa-media-licensing"
    }
  ],
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  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  }
}