{ "title": "Incidents in Asia, stage: pressure", "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?continent=asia&stage=pressure&view=cards", "filters": { "continent": "asia", "stage": "pressure", "view": "cards" }, "sort": "date", "count": 9, "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": "GE", "label": "Georgia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 135, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 135th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "IN", "label": "India", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 157, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "KZ", "label": "Kazakhstan", "rsf": null }, { "value": "MY", "label": "Malaysia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 95, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 95th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "PH", "label": "Philippines", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 114, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "TR", "label": "Türkiye", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 163, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "VN", "label": "Viet Nam", "rsf": null } ], "continent": [ { "value": "asia", "label": "Asia" } ], "tactic": [ { "value": "disinformation_labeling", "label": "Official labels", "count": 3 }, { "value": "prior_restraint", "label": "Prior restraint", "count": 3 }, { "value": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "label": "Funding and ownership pressure", "count": 2 }, { "value": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "label": "Surveillance and subpoenas", "count": 2 }, { "value": "lawsuits_against_press", "label": "Lawsuits against the press", "count": 1 }, { "value": "credential_control", "label": "Credential control", "count": 1 }, { "value": "access_ban", "label": "Access bans", "count": 1 } ], "stage": [ { "value": "pressure", "label": "Pressure", "count": 9 } ], "level": [ { "value": "national", "label": "National", "count": 9 } ], "outcome": [ { "value": "sustained", "label": "Sustained", "count": 3 }, { "value": "unknown", "label": "Unknown", "count": 3 }, { "value": "reversed", "label": "Reversed", "count": 2 }, { "value": "ongoing", "label": "Ongoing", "count": 1 } ], "leader": [ { "value": "irakli-kobakhidze", "label": "Irakli Kobakhidze" }, { "value": "kassym-jomart-tokayev", "label": "Kassym-Jomart Tokayev" }, { "value": "mahathir-mohamad", "label": "Mahathir Mohamad" }, { "value": "narendra-modi", "label": "Narendra Modi" }, { "value": "nguyen-tan-dung", "label": "Nguyen Tan Dung" }, { "value": "recep-tayyip-erdogan", "label": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan" }, { "value": "rodrigo-duterte", "label": "Rodrigo Duterte" } ], "era": [ { "value": "2020s", "label": "2020s", "count": 6 }, { "value": "2010s", "label": "2010s", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1990s", "label": "1990s", "count": 1 } ], "year": [ { "value": "1998", "label": "1998", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2013", "label": "2013", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2018", "label": "2018", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2021", "label": "2021", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2023", "label": "2023", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2024", "label": "2024", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2026", "label": "2026", "count": 1 } ], "has_case": [ { "value": "0", "label": "without a court case", "count": 9 } ] }, "results": [ { "slug": "2026-kazakhstan-copyright-claims-against-press", "title": "Kazakhstan: fabricated copyright complaints used against journalists", "occurred_on": "2026-08-20", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "KZ", "country_name": "Kazakhstan", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "KZ", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "lawsuits_against_press", "tactics": [ "lawsuits_against_press" ], "leader_slug": "kassym-jomart-tokayev", "leader_name": "Kassym-Jomart Tokayev", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "2026-08-20", "outcome_note": "The pattern was reported as continuing at the time of the source reviewed, with no described resolution.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "An investigation found paid services filing fabricated copyright complaints to remove Kazakh journalists' accounts, bypassing courts entirely; United States lawsuits against the press in the record proceed openly through the court system.", "rsf": null, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "An investigation found paid services in Kazakhstan filing fabricated copyright complaints, impersonating global brands, to get social media platforms to remove journalists' accounts and posts, alongside criminal prosecutions of the press.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-kazakhstan-copyright-claims-against-press" }, { "slug": "2024-georgia-foreign-influence-law", "title": "Georgia enacts 'foreign influence' law requiring media to register as foreign-backed", "occurred_on": "2024-05-28", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "GE", "country_name": "Georgia", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "GE", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling", "funding_and_ownership_pressure" ], "leader_slug": "irakli-kobakhidze", "leader_name": "Irakli Kobakhidze", "issue_of_the_day": "The governing Georgian Dream party framed the law as protecting Georgian sovereignty against foreign-funded groups it accused of trying to organize unrest, at a time when the party also faced growing opposition ahead of Georgia's 2024 parliamentary election.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The law took effect despite mass protests and international criticism; the governing party did not withdraw it.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 135, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 135th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Georgia's parliament passed a law requiring media and civil-society groups that receive 20 percent or more of their funding from abroad to register as organizations \"serving the interests of a foreign power,\" over mass street protests and international criticism that the label would be used to marginalize independent outlets.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-georgia-foreign-influence-law" }, { "slug": "2024-india-court-strikes-down-fact-check-unit", "title": "Bombay High Court strikes down India's government 'fact check unit' rule", "occurred_on": "2024-03-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "IN", "country_name": "India", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "narendra-modi", "leader_name": "Narendra Modi", "issue_of_the_day": "The government said the Fact Check Unit was needed to combat misinformation about its own policies and announcements online, at a time when it separately faced criticism over content restrictions ahead of India's 2024 general election.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2024-09-20", "outcome_note": "The Bombay High Court struck down the rule, finding its key terms 'vague and overbroad,' after the Supreme Court had already stayed its operation.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 157, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "India's 2023 amendment to its Information Technology Rules empowered a government-run Fact Check Unit to label online content about the central government 'fake' or 'false' and require its removal; comedian Kunal Kamra and media groups challenged it, and the Bombay High Court struck the rule down as unconstitutionally vague.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-india-court-strikes-down-fact-check-unit" }, { "slug": "2023-turkiye-rtuk-fines-earthquake-coverage", "title": "Turkiye: the broadcast regulator fines and suspends channels for earthquake coverage", "occurred_on": "2023-02-22", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "TR", "country_name": "Türkiye", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "TR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan", "leader_name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan", "issue_of_the_day": "Earthquakes in southern Turkiye in early February 2023 killed more than 50,000 people and drew widespread criticism of the government's building codes and disaster response.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2023-02-22", "outcome_note": "CPJ called for the penalties to be revoked; the source reviewed does not report that RTUK did so.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "A national regulator barred two programs from airing at all for five future episodes over their earthquake coverage, a forward restriction rather than a single broadcast ban.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 163, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Turkiye's broadcast regulator, RTUK, fined three television channels and suspended the next five episodes of two of their programs after they aired criticism of the government's response to the February 2023 earthquakes.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-turkiye-rtuk-fines-earthquake-coverage" }, { "slug": "2023-india-tax-authorities-raid-bbc-offices", "title": "Indian tax authorities search BBC offices weeks after Modi documentary ban", "occurred_on": "2023-02-14", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "IN", "country_name": "India", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "narendra-modi", "leader_name": "Narendra Modi", "issue_of_the_day": "The searches followed the government's ban, weeks earlier, of the BBC documentary 'India: The Modi Question,' which examined Modi's record as Gujarat's chief minister during 2002 riots that killed mostly Muslims.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "No penalty or further tax action against the BBC was reported; the broadcaster's India operations continued.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 157, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "India's Income Tax Department searched BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai for alleged tax evasion, three weeks after the government used emergency powers to block a BBC documentary examining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's response to 2002 communal violence.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-india-tax-authorities-raid-bbc-offices" }, { "slug": "2021-turkiye-press-card-controls-restrictive", "title": "Turkiye: the presidency's press card system is found restrictive by the country's top administrative court", "occurred_on": "2021-04-01", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "TR", "country_name": "Türkiye", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "TR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "credential_control", "tactics": [ "credential_control" ], "leader_slug": "recep-tayyip-erdogan", "leader_name": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan", "issue_of_the_day": "The 2018 rules had let the presidency cancel press cards for vaguely worded reasons, including \"diminishing the dignity of the media profession,\" and had been used against journalists dismissed or reassigned after the 2016 coup attempt.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2021-04-01", "outcome_note": "Turkiye's Council of State suspended the challenged 2018 press card regulation, though the source reviewed reports hundreds of journalists still waiting for cards afterward.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "A national regulator controlled the credential every journalist needs to work and enter official buildings, denying or delaying cards for hundreds of reporters for years.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 163, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Turkiye's Council of State suspended 2018 rules under which the presidency's Communications Directorate could deny or cancel the yellow and turquoise press cards that let reporters work and enter official buildings, after finding the grounds for denial too broad.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-turkiye-press-card-controls-restrictive" }, { "slug": "2018-philippines-bans-rappler-presidential-palace", "title": "Philippines: a Rappler reporter is barred from the presidential palace", "occurred_on": "2018-02-21", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "PH", "country_name": "Philippines", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "PH", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban" ], "leader_slug": "rodrigo-duterte", "leader_name": "Rodrigo Duterte", "issue_of_the_day": "The ban followed the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission's January 2018 revocation of Rappler's operating license over a foreign-ownership finding, a decision Rappler said was really aimed at its critical coverage of Duterte.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": "2018-02-21", "outcome_note": "The source reviewed reports only the ban taking effect and does not state whether or when it ended.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "The head of government personally ordered a named outlet's reporters excluded from the seat of government after revoking the outlet's corporate license.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 114, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "President Rodrigo Duterte ordered Rappler reporter Pia Ranada and the outlet's CEO barred from Malacanang Palace, the seat of the Philippine presidency, after the government revoked Rappler's operating license.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-philippines-bans-rappler-presidential-palace" }, { "slug": "2013-vietnam-decree-72-restricts-blogs", "title": "Vietnam: Decree 72 restricts blogs to personal information", "occurred_on": "2013-09-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "VN", "country_name": "Viet Nam", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "VN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling" ], "leader_slug": "nguyen-tan-dung", "leader_name": "Nguyen Tan Dung", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2013-09-01", "outcome_note": "The decree remained in force and was not reported as reversed in the source reviewed.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": "Vietnam's decree barred bloggers from sharing news articles at all, restricting them to personal content on pain of prosecution; no United States rule confines an outlet or blogger to personal content.", "rsf": null, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Vietnam's Decree 72 took effect in September 2013, barring bloggers and social media users from linking to or reposting news from press organizations or foreign government websites, restricting them to sharing personal information only.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2013-vietnam-decree-72-restricts-blogs" }, { "slug": "1998-malaysia-anwar-arrest-press-restrictions", "title": "Malaysia pressures domestic media and monitors foreign correspondents after arresting former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim", "occurred_on": "1998-09-20", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "MY", "country_name": "Malaysia", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "MY", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "mahathir-mohamad", "leader_name": "Mahathir Mohamad", "issue_of_the_day": "The September 1998 dismissal, arrest and prosecution of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim on corruption and sodomy charges.", "outcome": "unknown", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The sources reviewed do not describe a formal reversal of the surveillance of journalists or the pressure on party-linked papers during this period.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 95, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 95th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1990s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government arrested former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in September 1998, party-linked newspapers pressured staff to follow the official line, police visited journalists who interviewed his wife, and authorities said they would monitor internet traffic about the case.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1998-malaysia-anwar-arrest-press-restrictions" } ], "downloads": { "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?continent=asia&stage=pressure&view=cards&format=csv", "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents.json?continent=asia&stage=pressure&view=cards", "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents.md?continent=asia&stage=pressure&view=cards" }, "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" } }