{
  "title": "Incidents: official labels in Asia",
  "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?continent=asia&tactic=disinformation_labeling",
  "filters": {
    "continent": "asia",
    "tactic": "disinformation_labeling"
  },
  "sort": "date",
  "count": 3,
  "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": "PK",
        "label": "Pakistan",
        "rsf": {
          "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
          "year": 2026,
          "rank": 153,
          "of": 180,
          "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 153rd of 180",
          "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
        }
      }
    ],
    "continent": [
      {
        "value": "asia",
        "label": "Asia"
      }
    ],
    "tactic": [
      {
        "value": "disinformation_labeling",
        "label": "Official labels",
        "count": 3
      },
      {
        "value": "outlet_licensing",
        "label": "Licensing and closure of outlets",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "funding_and_ownership_pressure",
        "label": "Funding and ownership pressure",
        "count": 1
      },
      {
        "value": "prior_restraint",
        "label": "Prior restraint",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "stage": [
      {
        "value": "pressure",
        "label": "Pressure",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "punish",
        "label": "Punish",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "level": [
      {
        "value": "national",
        "label": "National",
        "count": 3
      }
    ],
    "outcome": [
      {
        "value": "sustained",
        "label": "Sustained",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "reversed",
        "label": "Reversed",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "leader": [
      {
        "value": "irakli-kobakhidze",
        "label": "Irakli Kobakhidze"
      },
      {
        "value": "narendra-modi",
        "label": "Narendra Modi"
      },
      {
        "value": "shehbaz-sharif",
        "label": "Shehbaz Sharif"
      }
    ],
    "era": [
      {
        "value": "2020s",
        "label": "2020s",
        "count": 3
      }
    ],
    "year": [
      {
        "value": "2024",
        "label": "2024",
        "count": 2
      },
      {
        "value": "2025",
        "label": "2025",
        "count": 1
      }
    ],
    "has_case": [
      {
        "value": "0",
        "label": "without a court case",
        "count": 3
      }
    ]
  },
  "results": [
    {
      "slug": "2025-pakistan-amends-peca-cybercrime-law",
      "title": "Pakistan amends cybercrime law to create new agency policing 'fake' online content",
      "occurred_on": "2025-01-29",
      "occurred_on_precision": "day",
      "country": "PK",
      "country_name": "Pakistan",
      "continent": "asia",
      "jurisdiction": "PK",
      "level": "national",
      "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling",
      "tactics": [
        "disinformation_labeling",
        "outlet_licensing"
      ],
      "leader_slug": "shehbaz-sharif",
      "leader_name": "Shehbaz Sharif",
      "issue_of_the_day": "The government said the amendment was needed to curb online disinformation, but journalists said the new offense's vague wording, covering content merely believed likely to cause \"fear, panic, disorder or unrest,\" gave authorities broad discretion over ordinary reporting.",
      "outcome": "sustained",
      "outcome_on": null,
      "outcome_note": "The amendment remained law despite nationwide journalist protests and a Human Rights Watch call for its repeal.",
      "stage": "punish",
      "ladder_note": null,
      "rsf": {
        "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
        "year": 2026,
        "rank": 153,
        "of": 180,
        "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 153rd of 180",
        "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
      },
      "era": "2020s",
      "granularity": "granular",
      "status": "in_effect",
      "case_count": 0,
      "summary": "Pakistan's parliament amended the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act to create a new Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority with power to block online content and a Social Media Protection Tribunal, and made spreading information deemed 'fake or false' punishable by up to three years in prison, prompting nationwide journalist protests.",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-pakistan-amends-peca-cybercrime-law"
    },
    {
      "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"
    }
  ],
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  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
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}