{ "title": "Incidents, outcome reversed", "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?outcome=reversed", "filters": { "outcome": "reversed" }, "sort": "date", "count": 51, "page": 1, "pages": 2, "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": "AR", "label": "Argentina", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 98, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 98th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "AU", "label": "Australia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 33, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 33rd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "AZ", "label": "Azerbaijan", "rsf": null }, { "value": "BY", "label": "Belarus", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 165, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "BR", "label": "Brazil", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 52, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 52nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "CA", "label": "Canada", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 20, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 20th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "CZ", "label": "Czechia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 11, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 11th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/country-czechia" } }, { "value": "EC", "label": "Ecuador", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 125, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 125th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "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": "DE", "label": "Germany", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 14, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 14th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "HT", "label": "Haiti", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 107, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 107th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "HU", "label": "Hungary", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 74, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 74th 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": "IR", "label": "Iran", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 177, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 177th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "MA", "label": "Morocco", "rsf": null }, { "value": "MM", "label": "Myanmar", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 166, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "NG", "label": "Nigeria", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 112, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 112th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "KP", "label": "North Korea", "rsf": null }, { "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": "PL", "label": "Poland", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 27, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 27th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "PT", "label": "Portugal", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 10, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 10th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "RU", "label": "Russia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "RS", "label": "Serbia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 104, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 104th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "ZA", "label": "South Africa", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 21, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 21st of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "KR", "label": "South Korea", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 47, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 47th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "ES", "label": "Spain", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 29, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 29th 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": "GB", "label": "United Kingdom", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 18, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "US", "label": "United States", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th 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" }, { "value": "asia", "label": "Asia" }, { "value": "europe", "label": "Europe" }, { "value": "north-america", "label": "North America" }, { "value": "south-america", "label": "South America" }, { "value": "oceania", "label": "Oceania" } ], "tactic": [ { "value": "detention_and_violence", "label": "Detention and violence", "count": 18 }, { "value": "prior_restraint", "label": "Prior restraint", "count": 13 }, { "value": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "label": "Secrets and espionage laws", "count": 9 }, { "value": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "label": "Surveillance and subpoenas", "count": 8 }, { "value": "outlet_licensing", "label": "Licensing and closure of outlets", "count": 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"state_or_province", "label": "State or province", "count": 4 }, { "value": "municipal", "label": "Municipal", "count": 1 } ], "outcome": [ { "value": "reversed", "label": "Reversed", "count": 51 } ], "leader": [ { "value": "adly-mansour", "label": "Adly Mansour" }, { "value": "adolf-hitler", "label": "Adolf Hitler" }, { "value": "alexander-dubcek", "label": "Alexander Dubček" }, { "value": "alexander-lukashenko", "label": "Alexander Lukashenko" }, { "value": "antonio-salazar", "label": "António de Oliveira Salazar" }, { "value": "aung-san-suu-kyi", "label": "Aung San Suu Kyi" }, { "value": "barack-obama", "label": "Barack Obama" }, { "value": "chun-doo-hwan", "label": "Chun Doo-hwan" }, { "value": "daniel-francois-malan", "label": "Daniel François Malan" }, { "value": "donald-trump", "label": "Donald Trump" }, { "value": "doug-ducey", "label": "Doug Ducey" }, { "value": "ferdinand-marcos", "label": "Ferdinand Marcos" }, { "value": "francisco-franco", "label": "Francisco Franco" }, { "value": "getulio-vargas", "label": "Getúlio Vargas" }, { "value": "hassan-rouhani", "label": "Hassan Rouhani" }, { "value": "ilham-aliyev", "label": "Ilham Aliyev" }, { "value": "indira-gandhi", "label": "Indira Gandhi" }, { "value": "jean-claude-duvalier", "label": "Jean-Claude Duvalier" }, { "value": "joe-biden", "label": "Joe Biden" }, { "value": "john-curtin", "label": "John Curtin" }, { "value": "john-horgan", "label": "John Horgan" }, { "value": "jorge-videla", "label": "Jorge Rafael Videla" }, { "value": "kim-jong-il", "label": "Kim Jong Il" }, { "value": "laura-kelly", "label": "Laura Kelly" }, { "value": "margaret-thatcher", "label": "Margaret Thatcher" }, { "value": "narendra-modi", "label": "Narendra Modi" }, { "value": "p-w-botha", "label": "P. W. Botha" }, { "value": "rafael-correa", "label": "Rafael Correa" }, { "value": "recep-tayyip-erdogan", "label": "Recep Tayyip Erdoğan" }, { "value": "richard-nixon", "label": "Richard Nixon" }, { "value": "robert-mugabe", "label": "Robert Mugabe" }, { "value": "rodrigo-duterte", "label": "Rodrigo Duterte" }, { "value": "ronald-reagan", "label": "Ronald Reagan" }, { "value": "saadeddine-othmani", "label": "Saadeddine Othmani" }, { "value": "sani-abacha", "label": "Sani Abacha" }, { "value": "scott-morrison", "label": "Scott Morrison" }, { "value": "slobodan-milosevic", "label": "Slobodan Milosevic" }, { "value": "theodore-christianson", "label": "Theodore Christianson" }, { "value": "tim-walz", "label": "Tim Walz" }, { "value": "viktor-orban", "label": "Viktor Orban" }, { "value": "vladimir-putin", "label": "Vladimir Putin" }, { "value": "wojciech-jaruzelski", "label": "Wojciech Jaruzelski" } ], "era": [ { "value": "2020s", "label": "2020s", "count": 16 }, { "value": "2010s", "label": "2010s", "count": 12 }, { "value": "1980s", "label": "1980s", "count": 6 }, { "value": "1970s", "label": "1970s", "count": 5 }, { "value": "1930s", "label": "1930s", "count": 4 }, { "value": "2000s", "label": "2000s", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1990s", "label": "1990s", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1960s", "label": "1960s", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1950s", "label": "1950s", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1940s", "label": "1940s", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1920s", "label": "1920s", "count": 1 } ], "year": [ { "value": "1927", "label": "1927", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1933", "label": "1933", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1938", "label": "1938", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1939", "label": "1939", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1944", "label": "1944", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1950", "label": "1950", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1968", "label": "1968", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1971", "label": "1971", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1972", "label": "1972", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1975", "label": "1975", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1976", "label": "1976", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1980", "label": "1980", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1981", "label": "1981", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1983", "label": "1983", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1985", "label": "1985", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1988", "label": "1988", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1995", "label": "1995", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1998", "label": "1998", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2003", "label": "2003", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2009", "label": "2009", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2010", "label": "2010", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2013", "label": "2013", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2014", "label": "2014", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2015", "label": "2015", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2018", "label": "2018", "count": 3 }, { "value": "2019", "label": "2019", "count": 4 }, { "value": "2020", "label": "2020", "count": 4 }, { "value": "2021", "label": "2021", "count": 3 }, { "value": "2023", "label": "2023", "count": 6 }, { "value": "2024", "label": "2024", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2025", "label": "2025", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2026", "label": "2026", "count": 1 } ], "has_case": [ { "value": "0", "label": "without a court case", "count": 50 }, { "value": "1", "label": "with a court case", "count": 1 } ] }, "results": [ { "slug": "2026-cbp-seizes-grayzone-editor-phones-airport", "title": "Customs officers seize Grayzone editor's phones at Virginia airport over Iran reporting", "occurred_on": "2026-07-10", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-VA", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": "Blumenthal had traveled to and reported from Iran, a country CBP's own cited policy treats as grounds for additional scrutiny of travelers who have worked in or visited it.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2026-07-17", "outcome_note": "Customs returned Blumenthal's phones after he sued; litigation continued into discovery over possible data extraction.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stopped Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal at Washington Dulles Airport, questioned him about his reporting trips to Iran, and seized both of his phones without his consent; the phones were returned a week later after he sued.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-cbp-seizes-grayzone-editor-phones-airport" }, { "slug": "2025-fcc-pressure-precedes-kimmel-suspension", "title": "United States: Federal Communications Commission chairman's remarks and the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, September 2025", "occurred_on": "2025-09-17", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": "Jimmy Kimmel's on-air remarks about speculation over the motives of the person who killed Charlie Kirk, according to NPR.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2025-09-23", "outcome_note": "ABC announced the show's return for 2025-09-23 after about a week off the air, according to Al Jazeera (s112).", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On September 17, 2025, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the United States regulator of broadcasting, Brendan Carr, said broadcasters could \"do this the easy way or the hard way\" over remarks by the television host Jimmy Kimmel, and warned of \"additional work for the FCC ahead.\" Within hours, the station owners Nexstar and Sinclair said they would pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! from their stations, and ABC, the network that airs it, did the same, according to NPR. ABC announced that the show would return on September 23, 2025, according to Al Jazeera.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-fcc-pressure-precedes-kimmel-suspension" }, { "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-hungary-sovereignty-protection-act", "title": "Hungary: National Sovereignty Protection Act and Sovereignty Protection Office, December 2023", "occurred_on": "2023-12-20", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "HU", "country_name": "Hungary", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "HU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling", "funding_and_ownership_pressure" ], "leader_slug": "viktor-orban", "leader_name": "Viktor Orban", "issue_of_the_day": null, "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2026-06-30", "outcome_note": "The National Assembly abolished the Sovereignty Protection Office on 2026-06-30, according to CPJ (s055).", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 74, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 74th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On December 20, 2023, the president of Hungary, Katalin Novák, promulgated the National Sovereignty Protection Act, passed by the National Assembly, Hungary's parliament, during the government of the prime minister, Viktor Orbán. The law created a Sovereignty Protection Office empowered to investigate organizations, including news outlets, that it determined might be influenced by foreign actors or threaten national sovereignty. A week earlier, ten Hungarian media outlets had said the law \"is capable of severely restricting the freedom of the press.\" After a change of government in 2026, the National Assembly abolished the office on June 30, 2026.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-hungary-sovereignty-protection-act" }, { "slug": "2023-marion-county-record-raid-kansas", "title": "Police raid Marion County Record newsroom and publisher's home in Kansas", "occurred_on": "2023-08-11", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-KS", "level": "municipal", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "laura-kelly", "leader_name": "Laura Kelly", "issue_of_the_day": "The Record had been investigating the driving record of local restaurant owner Kari Newell, who had accused the paper of accessing her personal information without authorization, the claim the search warrant cited as its basis.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2024-08-05", "outcome_note": "Special prosecutors found no evidence Record reporters had committed a crime and moved to charge former police chief Gideon Cody.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Police in Marion, Kansas, led by Chief Gideon Cody, raided the Marion County Record's newsroom and publisher Eric Meyer's home, seizing computers, phones and files, on a warrant tied to an identity-theft investigation. The paper's 98-year-old co-owner, Joan Meyer, died the next day; a special prosecutor later found no evidence the paper had committed a crime.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-marion-county-record-raid-kansas" }, { "slug": "2023-arizona-police-recording-law-struck-down", "title": "Federal court strikes down Arizona's law banning recording police within 8 feet", "occurred_on": "2023-07-21", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-AZ", "level": "state_or_province", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban" ], "leader_slug": "doug-ducey", "leader_name": "Doug Ducey", "issue_of_the_day": "The bill's sponsor said it responded to concerns that groups he described as antagonistic toward police followed officers around filming encounters and came dangerously close during potentially violent incidents.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2023-07-21", "outcome_note": "A federal judge permanently enjoined enforcement of the law, and Arizona's attorney general did not appeal.", "stage": "restrict", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Arizona's 2022 law making it a crime to record police within eight feet after a warning was struck down by a federal judge in July 2023, who found it chilled a substantial amount of activity protected by the First Amendment and was not necessary given other laws already protecting officers.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-arizona-police-recording-law-struck-down" }, { "slug": "2024-russia-sentences-gershkovich", "title": "Russia: Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years", "occurred_on": "2023-03-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-putin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Putin", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2024-08-01", "outcome_note": "Gershkovich was freed in a prisoner exchange alongside RFE/RL editor Alsu Kurmasheva after 16 months in detention.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "Russia held a Wall Street Journal reporter for over a year on an espionage charge his employer called fabricated, then sentenced him to sixteen years; United States detentions of journalists in the record have not led to years-long imprisonment on state charges.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 172, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Russia arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in March 2023 on an espionage charge his employer called fabricated, held him for about 15 months before a closed trial, and sentenced him to 16 years before releasing him in a prisoner exchange.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-russia-sentences-gershkovich" }, { "slug": "2023-belarus-sentences-poczobut", "title": "Belarus: journalist Andrzej Poczobut sentenced to eight years", "occurred_on": "2023-02-08", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "BY", "country_name": "Belarus", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "BY", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko", "leader_name": "Alexander Lukashenko", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2026-04-28", "outcome_note": "Poczobut was freed after 1,860 days as part of a multi-country prisoner exchange; CPJ reported 22 other journalists remained imprisoned in Belarus at the time.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "Belarus sentenced a correspondent to eight years for reporting on its Polish minority and held him nearly five years before an exchange; comparable United States detentions in the record ended in hours, not years.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 165, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Belarus sentenced Polish-Belarusian correspondent Andrzej Poczobut to eight years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions, after holding him since March 2021. He was freed five years later in a multi-country prisoner exchange.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-belarus-sentences-poczobut" }, { "slug": "2023-belarus-poczobut-eight-year-sentence", "title": "Belarus: journalist Andrzej Poczobut is sentenced to eight years for inciting hatred", "occurred_on": "2023-02-08", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "BY", "country_name": "Belarus", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "BY", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "alexander-lukashenko", "leader_name": "Alexander Lukashenko", "issue_of_the_day": "Poczobut had been a longtime commentator and producer for programs on the Poland-based independent broadcaster Belsat TV and Polish public broadcaster TVP Polonia, reporting on Belarus for a Polish-speaking audience.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2026-04-28", "outcome_note": "Poczobut was freed on April 28, 2026, as part of a prisoner exchange involving eight countries, before completing his eight-year sentence.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "A journalist was imprisoned for about five years on a hatred and sanctions charge, and his release required an eight-country prisoner exchange rather than any domestic legal process.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 165, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 165th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Belarusian court sentenced dual Belarusian-Polish journalist Andrzej Poczobut to eight years in prison on charges of inciting hatred and calling for sanctions, and he was freed three years later as part of a multi-country prisoner exchange.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-belarus-poczobut-eight-year-sentence" }, { "slug": "2021-rcmp-restricts-press-fairy-creek-court-order", "title": "Court orders RCMP to stop restricting press access at Fairy Creek logging blockades", "occurred_on": "2021-07-20", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "CA", "country_name": "Canada", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "CA-BC", "level": "state_or_province", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "john-horgan", "leader_name": "John Horgan", "issue_of_the_day": "The RCMP was enforcing a court injunction won by logging company Teal-Jones against protesters blocking old-growth logging roads near Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island, and had required journalists to check in and stay escorted rather than observe enforcement directly.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2021-07-20", "outcome_note": "The court granted the media coalition's request, requiring the RCMP to account for press access in future enforcement decisions.", "stage": "restrict", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 20, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 20th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A British Columbia court found the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had failed to justify wide exclusion zones that kept journalists away from its enforcement of a logging injunction at the Fairy Creek old-growth blockades, and ordered police to keep the media's role in a free society in mind when deciding whether to remove or arrest reporters.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-rcmp-restricts-press-fairy-creek-court-order" }, { "slug": "2021-doj-bans-seizing-reporters-records-garland", "title": "Justice Department bars seizing reporters' phone and email records", "occurred_on": "2021-07-19", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "joe-biden", "leader_name": "Joe Biden", "issue_of_the_day": "In mid-2021, The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN separately disclosed that the Justice Department had secretly seized their reporters' phone and email records years earlier while investigating leaks, including of information about contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russia.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2025-04-25", "outcome_note": "Attorney General Bondi rescinded these protections in April 2025, restoring the department's earlier discretionary balancing test.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After it came to light that the Trump-era Justice Department had secretly obtained the phone and email records of reporters at The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a policy barring prosecutors from using subpoenas or other compulsory process against journalists in leak investigations.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-doj-bans-seizing-reporters-records-garland" }, { "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": "2020-federal-officers-target-journalists-portland-injunction", "title": "Federal officers restrict press access to Portland protests; judge orders them to stop", "occurred_on": "2020-07-23", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-OR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": "The federal government sent Department of Homeland Security officers to Portland in July 2020 to protect a federal courthouse during nightly protests that followed George Floyd's killing; officers' use of force against bystanders, including identified journalists, prompted the lawsuit.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2020-07-23", "outcome_note": "On July 23, 2020, the court ordered federal agents to stop dispersing, arresting or using force against identified journalists and legal observers; the order was later extended.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After federal officers deployed to Portland used tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on journalists and legal observers covering protests, the American Civil Liberties Union sued, and a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction barring officers from dispersing, arresting or using force against clearly identified press.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-federal-officers-target-journalists-portland-injunction" }, { "slug": "2020-morocco-omar-radi-pegasus-and-detention", "title": "Morocco: investigative journalist Omar Radi's phone is infected with Pegasus spyware and he is later detained", "occurred_on": "2020-07-05", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "MA", "country_name": "Morocco", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "MA", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "saadeddine-othmani", "leader_name": "Saadeddine Othmani", "issue_of_the_day": "Radi worked as an investigative journalist for the Moroccan outlet Le Desk and had faced a prior court conviction and government-aligned media allegations before the spyware finding.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2024-07-01", "outcome_note": "Radi was released in July 2024 as part of a mass royal pardon, though he said his legal status left him unable to work as an accredited journalist afterward.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": "A journalist's private communications were covertly extracted despite his taking precautions against hacking, then published by pro-government media and used against him in court.", "rsf": null, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Amnesty International confirmed Moroccan investigative journalist Omar Radi's phone had been infected with Pegasus spyware, and Moroccan police separately detained him overnight days later after private material from his devices circulated in pro-government media.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-morocco-omar-radi-pegasus-and-detention" }, { "slug": "2020-minnesota-state-patrol-arrests-cnn-crew-minneapolis", "title": "Minnesota State Patrol arrests CNN crew live on air in Minneapolis", "occurred_on": "2020-05-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-MN", "level": "state_or_province", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "tim-walz", "leader_name": "Tim Walz", "issue_of_the_day": "Protests in Minneapolis followed the police killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. Jimenez's crew was reporting live on the unrest and the state's response near the site of the killing when troopers moved to clear the area at dawn on May 29.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2020-05-29", "outcome_note": "The crew was released within about ninety minutes and Governor Walz apologized the same day, calling the arrest his own failure.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Minnesota State Patrol troopers arrested CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew on live television while they covered protests after the police killing of George Floyd. Officers gave no reason before handcuffing the three men; Governor Tim Walz apologized hours later and called the arrest a failure of the state's own procedures.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-minnesota-state-patrol-arrests-cnn-crew-minneapolis" }, { "slug": "2020-australia-high-court-invalidates-smethurst-warrant", "title": "Australia's High Court invalidates warrant for raid on journalist Annika Smethurst", "occurred_on": "2020-04-15", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "AU", "country_name": "Australia", "continent": "oceania", "jurisdiction": "AU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "scott-morrison", "leader_name": "Scott Morrison", "issue_of_the_day": "The 2019 raid stemmed from Smethurst's reporting on leaked, classified plans to expand the Australian Signals Directorate's domestic surveillance powers, which the government treated as a national-security leak investigation.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2020-05-27", "outcome_note": "The High Court found the 2019 warrant invalid but declined to order the AFP to return or destroy the material it had seized; weeks later the AFP announced it would not charge Smethurst.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 33, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 33rd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2020s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "reversed", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Australia's High Court ruled that the warrant the Australian Federal Police used to raid News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst's home over a national-security leak was invalid, and weeks later the AFP said it would not lay charges against her, citing insufficient evidence.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2020-australia-high-court-invalidates-smethurst-warrant" }, { "slug": "2019-iran-nationwide-internet-shutdown", "title": "Iran: near-total internet shutdown during fuel-price protests", "occurred_on": "2019-11-16", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "IR", "country_name": "Iran", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "hassan-rouhani", "leader_name": "Hassan Rouhani", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2019-11-23", "outcome_note": "Internet connectivity was restored after roughly a week, according to the source reviewed, though the underlying criminal cases against arrested journalists continued.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": "Iran cut internet connectivity to about five percent of normal nationwide for nearly a week and arrested a journalist for reporting on the shutdown itself; no United States action in the record has cut off nationwide communications.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 177, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 177th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Iran cut internet connectivity to about five percent of normal levels nationwide for nearly a week during protests over fuel prices, while arresting at least eleven journalists, including one detained for reporting on the shutdown itself.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2019-iran-nationwide-internet-shutdown" }, { "slug": "2019-australia-afp-raids-abc-afghan-files", "title": "Australian Federal Police raid the national broadcaster over reporting on alleged war crimes in Afghanistan", "occurred_on": "2019-06-05", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "AU", "country_name": "Australia", "continent": "oceania", "jurisdiction": "AU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "scott-morrison", "leader_name": "Scott Morrison", "issue_of_the_day": "ABC's 2017 \"Afghan Files\" reporting on allegations that Australian special forces soldiers killed people in breach of the laws of armed conflict.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2020-10-15", "outcome_note": "The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions decided in October 2020 not to charge journalist Dan Oakes over the Afghan Files reporting.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 33, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 33rd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Australian Federal Police spent hours searching the headquarters of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) over its 2017 \"Afghan Files\" reports on alleged killings by Australian special forces that breached the laws of armed conflict, seizing files under a warrant citing the Crimes Act's ban on publishing classified material.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2019-australia-afp-raids-abc-afghan-files" }, { "slug": "2019-us-assange-espionage-act-indictment", "title": "United States indicts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under the Espionage Act", "occurred_on": "2019-05-23", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": "WikiLeaks' 2010 publication of leaked United States military reports and diplomatic cables supplied by Chelsea Manning.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2024-06-25", "outcome_note": "Assange spent five years in a British prison fighting extradition before a June 2024 plea deal: he pleaded guilty to one count, was sentenced to time served, and was released.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The United States indicted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on 17 counts under the Espionage Act over the 2010 publication of leaked military and diplomatic files, charges press-freedom groups said could expose ordinary national-security journalism to prosecution.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2019-us-assange-espionage-act-indictment" }, { "slug": "2019-philippines-arrests-ressa", "title": "Philippines: Rappler's Maria Ressa arrested over cyber libel case", "occurred_on": "2019-02-13", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "PH", "country_name": "Philippines", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "PH", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "rodrigo-duterte", "leader_name": "Rodrigo Duterte", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2019-02-14", "outcome_note": "Ressa was released on bail the morning after her arrest; the underlying cyber libel case continued separately.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": "Philippine agents arrested an outlet's executive editor at her own newsroom over a story published years before the cybercrime law used to charge her existed; United States detentions in the record ended without charges filed.", "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": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Philippine agents arrested Rappler executive editor Maria Ressa at the outlet's Manila office and held her overnight on a cyber libel case tied to a 2012 story, published before the cybercrime law used to charge her existed.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2019-philippines-arrests-ressa" }, { "slug": "2018-us-cnn-acosta-credential-revoked", "title": "White House revokes CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's press credential after a news conference exchange with President Trump", "occurred_on": "2018-11-07", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "credential_control", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "credential_control" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": "President Trump's characterization of a migrant caravan approaching the United States border in the days before the November 2018 midterm election.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2018-11-19", "outcome_note": "A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on November 16, 2018, and the White House permanently restored Acosta's credential three days later rather than continue the lawsuit.", "stage": "restrict", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After CNN's Jim Acosta questioned President Trump at a news conference and briefly kept hold of a microphone as an intern reached for it, the White House suspended his hard pass, the standing credential letting reporters enter the grounds; a federal judge ordered it restored a week later.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-us-cnn-acosta-credential-revoked" }, { "slug": "2018-white-house-revokes-acosta-press-pass", "title": "United States: White House suspension of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's hard pass, November 2018", "occurred_on": "2018-11-07", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "credential_control", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "credential_control" ], "leader_slug": "donald-trump", "leader_name": "Donald Trump", "issue_of_the_day": "An exchange between Acosta and Trump at a White House news conference on November 7, 2018, after the United States midterm elections.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2018-11-19", "outcome_note": "A temporary restraining order of 2018-11-16 required reinstatement; the White House restored the pass on 2018-11-19 and CNN dropped the suit.", "stage": "restrict", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "in_effect", "case_count": 2, "summary": "On November 7, 2018, the White House suspended the hard pass of CNN's White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, after what Gulf News called a \"heated confrontation\" between Acosta and the president of the United States, Donald Trump, at a news conference after the country's midterm elections. A hard pass is the standing credential that lets a reporter enter the White House press area without applying each day. On November 16, 2018, a federal judge granted CNN a temporary restraining order requiring the pass to be reinstated, and the White House restored it on November 19, 2018, after which CNN dropped its lawsuit.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-white-house-revokes-acosta-press-pass" }, { "slug": "2018-myanmar-reuters-journalists-official-secrets-act", "title": "Myanmar sentences two Reuters journalists to seven years under the Official Secrets Act for reporting on a massacre", "occurred_on": "2018-09-03", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "MM", "country_name": "Myanmar", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "MM", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "aung-san-suu-kyi", "leader_name": "Aung San Suu Kyi", "issue_of_the_day": "The Reuters investigation into the killing of ten Rohingya Muslim men and boys by Myanmar soldiers and local residents in Inn Din village, Rakhine State, in September 2017.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2019-05-07", "outcome_note": "President Win Myint pardoned and released Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on May 7, 2019, after 511 days in prison, as part of a mass amnesty.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "Both reporters were pardoned in May 2019 after 511 days in prison.", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 166, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Myanmar court sentenced Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo to seven years under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act after police handed them classified documents at a dinner shortly before their arrest, while they were investigating the killing of Rohingya Muslim villagers.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-myanmar-reuters-journalists-official-secrets-act" }, { "slug": "2015-azerbaijan-sentences-ismayilova", "title": "Azerbaijan: investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova sentenced to 7.5 years", "occurred_on": "2015-09-01", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "AZ", "country_name": "Azerbaijan", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "AZ", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence" ], "leader_slug": "ilham-aliyev", "leader_name": "Ilham Aliyev", "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2016-05-25", "outcome_note": "Azerbaijan's Supreme Court converted her sentence to a suspended term and ordered her released after about 538 days in custody.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "Azerbaijan imprisoned an investigative reporter for over a year on charges connected to her reporting on the president's family's business holdings; no United States case in the record has produced a multi-year sentence.", "rsf": null, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Baku court convicted investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova on business and tax charges and sentenced her to seven and a half years in prison, in a case CPJ said was payback for her reporting on official corruption.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2015-azerbaijan-sentences-ismayilova" }, { "slug": "2014-us-james-risen-subpoena-jeffrey-sterling", "title": "United States pursues New York Times reporter James Risen's testimony for years before dropping its demand for his source", "occurred_on": "2014-10-17", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "barack-obama", "leader_name": "Barack Obama", "issue_of_the_day": "A 2006 book account of a botched CIA operation meant to disrupt Iran's nuclear weapons program.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2014-10-17", "outcome_note": "After the Supreme Court declined to hear Risen's appeal, the Justice Department chose not to compel his testimony or the identity of his source; Sterling was convicted without it.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "For years, federal prosecutors sought New York Times reporter James Risen's testimony identifying a confidential source in a CIA leak case; the Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal, but Attorney General Eric Holder ultimately chose not to force him to testify or name the source.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2014-us-james-risen-subpoena-jeffrey-sterling" }, { "slug": "2013-egypt-al-jazeera-journalists-jailed", "title": "Egypt arrests and later convicts three Al Jazeera journalists on terrorism-related charges", "occurred_on": "2013-12-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "EG", "country_name": "Egypt", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "EG", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "adly-mansour", "leader_name": "Adly Mansour", "issue_of_the_day": "The Egyptian military's July 2013 removal of President Mohamed Morsi and the government's subsequent designation of his Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2015-09-23", "outcome_note": "President Sisi pardoned Fahmy and Mohamed on September 23, 2015; Greste had already been deported to Australia in February 2015 under a prisoner-transfer arrangement.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "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": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Months after the military removed President Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian security forces arrested Al Jazeera English journalists Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed at a Cairo hotel; courts later convicted them of aiding a banned organization, and international pressure led to pardons.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2013-egypt-al-jazeera-journalists-jailed" }, { "slug": "2013-ecuador-communications-law-supercom", "title": "Ecuador's Organic Communication Law creates a regulator that issues hundreds of sanctions against journalists and outlets", "occurred_on": "2013-06-25", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "EC", "country_name": "Ecuador", "continent": "south-america", "jurisdiction": "EC", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "rafael-correa", "leader_name": "Rafael Correa", "issue_of_the_day": "President Correa's long-running public disputes with Ecuadorian media over their coverage of his government, including a separate 2011 libel case against the newspaper El Universo.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2019-02-20", "outcome_note": "President Lenin Moreno's government moved to eliminate SUPERCOM in 2018, and the reform of the Communication Law was published in the Official Register on February 20, 2019; Fundamedios director Cesar Ricaurte said the surrounding legal framework nonetheless remained \"intact.\"", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 125, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 125th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Ecuador's National Assembly passed the Organic Communication Law under President Rafael Correa, creating the Superintendency of Information and Communication (SUPERCOM), a regulator that issued more than 675 sanctions against journalists and media outlets over the following four years.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2013-ecuador-communications-law-supercom" }, { "slug": "2010-us-chelsea-manning-espionage-act-wikileaks", "title": "United States charges Army analyst Chelsea Manning under the Espionage Act for leaking to WikiLeaks", "occurred_on": "2010-07-05", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "barack-obama", "leader_name": "Barack Obama", "issue_of_the_day": "United States conduct of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and detainee treatment, including the CIA's interrogation program.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2017-01-17", "outcome_note": "Manning's convictions were not overturned, but President Obama commuted her 35-year sentence in January 2017 and she was released that May.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "2010s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The U.S. Army charged intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning under the Espionage Act, a 1917 law against disclosing defense information, after she gave WikiLeaks, a website that publishes leaked documents, a large archive of military and diplomatic files that news organizations later published.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2010-us-chelsea-manning-espionage-act-wikileaks" }, { "slug": "2009-north-korea-ling-lee-sentenced", "title": "North Korea: American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee are sentenced to hard labor", "occurred_on": "2009-06-08", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "KP", "country_name": "North Korea", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "KP", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "kim-jong-il", "leader_name": "Kim Jong Il", "issue_of_the_day": "Ling and Lee had been reporting near the China-North Korea border for the American outlet Current TV when they were detained by North Korean border guards in March 2009.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2009-08-04", "outcome_note": "North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned Ling and Lee after former President Bill Clinton traveled to Pyongyang to secure their release.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": "Two foreign journalists received a twenty-year hard-labor sentence for a border charge, resolved only by a former head of state's personal visit to the country's leader.", "rsf": null, "era": "2000s", "granularity": "granular", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A North Korean court sentenced Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee to twenty years of \"reform through hard labor\" after their arrest for crossing the border from China without authorization, and both were released months later following a visit by former President Bill Clinton.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2009-north-korea-ling-lee-sentenced" }, { "slug": "2003-zimbabwe-daily-news-shut-down", "title": "Zimbabwe: police close the Daily News under the media registration law", "occurred_on": "2003-09-12", "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": "The closure came amid a wider campaign by President Robert Mugabe's government against independent media following the contested 2002 presidential election.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2010-05-27", "outcome_note": "Zimbabwe's Media Commission granted the Daily News a new publishing license on May 27, 2010, nearly seven years after the closure.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": "The country's largest independent newspaper was shut by police and kept off newsstands for nearly seven years, not a temporary suspension or fine.", "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": "granular", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Zimbabwe's Supreme Court ruled the Daily News, the country's largest independent newspaper, was operating unregistered under a 2002 media law, and police shut its offices the next day; the paper stayed closed for nearly seven years.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2003-zimbabwe-daily-news-shut-down" }, { "slug": "1998-serbia-public-information-act-fines", "title": "Serbia's Public Information Act lets courts fine independent newspapers into financial danger", "occurred_on": "1998-10-20", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "RS", "country_name": "Serbia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RS", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "insult_and_defamation_laws" ], "leader_slug": "slobodan-milosevic", "leader_name": "Slobodan Milosevic", "issue_of_the_day": "Independent Serbian media's coverage of NATO's escalating confrontation with Yugoslavia over Kosovo through 1998 and 1999.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2000-10-01", "outcome_note": "The law was suspended after Milosevic lost power in October 2000 elections and a change of government in Serbia.", "stage": "punish", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 104, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 104th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1990s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Serbia's parliament passed a Public Information Act allowing courts to levy same-day fines against newspapers for vaguely defined offenses against the state's interests, and independent papers were fined far more often and more heavily than pro-government ones.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1998-serbia-public-information-act-fines" }, { "slug": "1995-nigeria-abacha-journalists-tribunal", "title": "Nigeria's military government convicts journalists by special tribunal over coup-plot reporting", "occurred_on": "1995-07-27", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "NG", "country_name": "Nigeria", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "NG", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "sani-abacha", "leader_name": "Sani Abacha", "issue_of_the_day": "An alleged March 1995 coup plot against General Sani Abacha's military government, which the journalists had reported on.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1998-06-15", "outcome_note": "The journalists were released in stages after General Abacha's death in June 1998 under his successor's government; their convictions were not vacated in the sources reviewed.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 112, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 112th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1990s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A special military tribunal convicted four Nigerian journalists as accessories to a supposed 1995 coup plot after they reported on it, sentencing them to lengthy prison terms with no right of appeal, under the military government of General Sani Abacha.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1995-nigeria-abacha-journalists-tribunal" }, { "slug": "1988-uk-broadcasting-ban-sinn-fein", "title": "United Kingdom bars broadcasters from airing Sinn Féin members' own voices", "occurred_on": "1988-10-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "GB", "country_name": "United Kingdom", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "GB", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "margaret-thatcher", "leader_name": "Margaret Thatcher", "issue_of_the_day": "Violence linked to the conflict in Northern Ireland, often called the Troubles, continued through the 1980s, and the British government wanted to deny paramilitary-linked political figures what it considered a broadcasting platform.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1994-09-16", "outcome_note": "The broadcasting ban was lifted on September 16, 1994, shortly after the Irish Republican Army's August 1994 ceasefire declaration.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 18, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1980s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Home Secretary Douglas Hurd directed British broadcasters in October 1988 not to air the voices of representatives of Sinn Féin, a party linked to the Irish Republican Army, and other groups linked to violence in Northern Ireland. Broadcasters got around it by having actors read transcripts of the same interviews.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1988-uk-broadcasting-ban-sinn-fein" }, { "slug": "1985-south-africa-state-of-emergency-media-ban", "title": "South Africa bans television and photographic coverage of unrest under a state of emergency", "occurred_on": "1985-11-02", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "ZA", "country_name": "South Africa", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ZA", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "access_ban", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "p-w-botha", "leader_name": "P. W. Botha", "issue_of_the_day": "Unrest against apartheid had spread through South Africa's Black townships through 1985, and the government's emergency regulations applied to the television and photographic coverage that had brought international attention to the violence.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1990-06-01", "outcome_note": "South Africa's state of emergency and its media restrictions ended in June 1990 as State President F. W. de Klerk began dismantling apartheid.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 21, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 21st of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1980s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Under a state of emergency State President P. W. Botha had declared in July 1985, the government banned television, radio and photographic coverage of unrest in South Africa's Black townships on November 2, 1985, requiring print journalists to report only under police escort.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1985-south-africa-state-of-emergency-media-ban" }, { "slug": "1983-us-grenada-press-exclusion", "title": "United States military bars journalists from the invasion of Grenada", "occurred_on": "1983-10-25", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "access_ban", "tactics": [ "access_ban" ], "leader_slug": "ronald-reagan", "leader_name": "Ronald Reagan", "issue_of_the_day": "Defense officials had for years blamed unrestricted press coverage for damaging public and political support during the Vietnam War, and applied that lesson by excluding reporters from the opening phase of the Grenada operation.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1985-04-01", "outcome_note": "The Pentagon created a standing national media pool in 1985 on the Sidle Commission's recommendation, formally reversing the total exclusion used in Grenada.", "stage": "restrict", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1980s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "When United States forces invaded the Caribbean island of Grenada on October 25, 1983, military commanders kept all journalists away from the island for the first two days of fighting, citing operational reasons. Protests from news organizations led the Pentagon to create a rotating press pool for future operations.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1983-us-grenada-press-exclusion" }, { "slug": "1981-poland-martial-law-press-suspended", "title": "Poland's martial law government shuts nearly all newspapers and interns journalists overnight", "occurred_on": "1981-12-13", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "PL", "country_name": "Poland", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "PL", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "wojciech-jaruzelski", "leader_name": "Wojciech Jaruzelski", "issue_of_the_day": "Poland's Solidarity trade union movement had grown into a mass challenge to Communist Party rule through 1980 and 1981, and Jaruzelski's government imposed martial law to suppress the movement and the independent press associated with it.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1983-07-22", "outcome_note": "Martial law was formally lifted on July 22, 1983, though reduced press controls in Poland continued until the fall of Communist rule in 1989.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 27, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 27th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1980s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "On December 13, 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland, cutting phone and telex lines, suspending nearly all newspapers, and interning thousands of people, most Solidarity trade union journalists among them, within days.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1981-poland-martial-law-press-suspended" }, { "slug": "1981-haiti-duvalier-radio-haiti-inter-exile", "title": "Haiti's Duvalier government arrests and deports Radio Haiti-Inter staff, driving its director into exile", "occurred_on": "1980-11-28", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "HT", "country_name": "Haiti", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "HT", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "expulsion_and_visa_denial" ], "leader_slug": "jean-claude-duvalier", "leader_name": "Jean-Claude Duvalier", "issue_of_the_day": "Radio Haiti-Inter had built a reputation for independent reporting critical of the Duvalier government at a time when most Haitian media avoided such coverage, drawing sustained official friction toward the station.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1986-02-01", "outcome_note": "Jean Dominique returned to Haiti and to Radio Haiti-Inter in February 1986 after the fall of President-for-life Jean-Claude Duvalier's government.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 107, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 107th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1980s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Under President Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian authorities arrested and deported staff of Radio Haiti-Inter, an independent station that had reported critically on the government, forcing its director, journalist Jean Dominique, into exile after security forces raided the station on November 28, 1980. He returned only after Duvalier's government fell in 1986.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1981-haiti-duvalier-radio-haiti-inter-exile" }, { "slug": "1980-south-korea-chun-doo-hwan-press-purge", "title": "South Korea's martial-law government purges journalists who resisted press controls", "occurred_on": "1980-07-31", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "KR", "country_name": "South Korea", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "KR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "chun-doo-hwan", "leader_name": "Chun Doo-hwan", "issue_of_the_day": "Chun Doo-hwan's military government had just suppressed a pro-democracy uprising centered in the city of Kwangju in May 1980, and used the purge to remove journalists it associated with resistance to press controls during that period.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1987-06-01", "outcome_note": "South Korea's June 1987 democracy movement led to direct presidential elections and an easing of press controls; a 1986 leak of secret press guidelines had already embarrassed the government.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 47, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 47th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1980s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Under General Chun Doo-hwan's martial-law government, South Korean authorities ordered newsrooms in 1980 to purge journalists who had resisted press controls or joined a May sit-in strike for press freedom, and closed 172 periodicals, dismissing roughly 2,000 journalists in total.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1980-south-korea-chun-doo-hwan-press-purge" }, { "slug": "1976-argentina-junta-press-decrees", "title": "Argentina's military junta threatens journalists with prison for reporting on its opponents", "occurred_on": "1976-03-24", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "AR", "country_name": "Argentina", "continent": "south-america", "jurisdiction": "AR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "jorge-videla", "leader_name": "Jorge Rafael Videla", "issue_of_the_day": "Argentina's military had just overthrown the elected government and moved immediately to prevent reporting sympathetic to leftist groups it had outlawed or reporting it considered damaging to the armed forces' standing.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1983-12-10", "outcome_note": "Argentina returned to civilian, elected government under President Raúl Alfonsín in December 1983, ending the junta's press decrees.", "stage": "eliminate", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 98, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 98th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1970s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Hours after seizing power on March 24, 1976, Argentina's military junta, led by General Jorge Videla, issued Communiqué No. 19, threatening up to 10 years in prison for reporting favorable to groups it called subversive. Hundreds of journalists were later detained, killed or forced into exile.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1976-argentina-junta-press-decrees" }, { "slug": "1975-india-emergency-press-censorship", "title": "India imposes pre-press controls on every newspaper during the 1975 Emergency", "occurred_on": "1975-06-26", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "IN", "country_name": "India", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "IN", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "indira-gandhi", "leader_name": "Indira Gandhi", "issue_of_the_day": "A court had found Prime Minister Gandhi guilty of election malpractice shortly before the Emergency began, and her government cited threats to internal stability in declaring the state of emergency and imposing press controls the next day.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1977-03-21", "outcome_note": "Gandhi ended the Emergency and lifted press controls on March 21, 1977, shortly before her party lost the general election that followed.", "stage": "silence", "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": "1970s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency on June 25, 1975, and the next day her government imposed pre-press controls on every Indian newspaper, requiring official clearance before publication and later forcibly merging the country's news agencies into one.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1975-india-emergency-press-censorship" }, { "slug": "1972-philippines-marcos-martial-law-media-closures", "title": "Philippines President Marcos closes every major news outlet under martial law", "occurred_on": "1972-09-21", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "PH", "country_name": "Philippines", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "PH", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "prior_restraint", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "ferdinand-marcos", "leader_name": "Ferdinand Marcos", "issue_of_the_day": "Marcos had declared martial law citing threats from Communist insurgency and civil unrest, and moved immediately to eliminate independent media coverage that might question the declaration or his expanding powers.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1986-02-25", "outcome_note": "Marcos was removed from power in the People Power Revolution of February 22-25, 1986, ending martial-law controls on the Philippine press.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "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": "1970s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972, and the next day ordered the military to take over nearly every newspaper, radio and television station in the Philippines, jailing prominent publishers and editors and requiring government clearance for whatever remained.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1972-philippines-marcos-martial-law-media-closures" }, { "slug": "1971-us-nixon-enemies-list", "title": "Nixon White House compiles an enemies list naming journalists for official pressure", "occurred_on": "1971-08-16", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "surveillance_and_subpoenas", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "surveillance_and_subpoenas" ], "leader_slug": "richard-nixon", "leader_name": "Richard Nixon", "issue_of_the_day": "Nixon's aides were reacting to sustained critical coverage and commentary from named journalists during his first term, including Mary McGrory's columns, which an internal notation described as habitually critical to the president.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1973-06-27", "outcome_note": "The list became public during John Dean's Senate Watergate Committee testimony, discrediting the effort as Nixon's presidency unraveled over the wider Watergate scandal.", "stage": "pressure", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1970s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "White House Counsel John Dean wrote a memo on how to use federal agencies against President Nixon's political opponents, and the resulting list of more than 200 names included journalists such as CBS News correspondent Daniel Schorr. It became public during the 1973 Senate Watergate hearings.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1971-us-nixon-enemies-list" }, { "slug": "1971-us-pentagon-papers-injunction", "title": "United States government seeks an injunction to stop The New York Times publishing the Pentagon Papers", "occurred_on": "1971-06-15", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "richard-nixon", "leader_name": "Richard Nixon", "issue_of_the_day": "The Pentagon Papers documented decades of internal government decision-making on the Vietnam War that contradicted public statements by several administrations, and the Nixon administration sought to prevent further disclosure of the classified history.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1971-06-30", "outcome_note": "The Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 that the government's request for an injunction against publication failed to overcome the heavy presumption against prior restraint.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 64, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1970s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After The New York Times began publishing a leaked secret history of the Vietnam War, the Nixon administration obtained a court order stopping further publication, the first such order against a major American newspaper. The Supreme Court lifted it two weeks later, ruling the government had not justified blocking publication in advance.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1971-us-pentagon-papers-injunction" }, { "slug": "1968-czechoslovakia-normalization-censorship", "title": "Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia is followed by the return of government press controls", "occurred_on": "1968-08-21", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "CZ", "country_name": "Czechia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "CZ", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "alexander-dubcek", "leader_name": "Alexander Dubček", "issue_of_the_day": "Czechoslovakia's Prague Spring reforms, including eased press controls, had alarmed the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies, who invaded to reverse the liberalization before it could spread further.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1989-11-01", "outcome_note": "Formal press controls in Czechoslovakia ended with the Velvet Revolution of November 1989, which brought down Communist Party rule.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 11, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 11th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/country-czechia" }, "era": "1960s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Soviet-led Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia on August 20-21, 1968 to end the Prague Spring, a period of liberalization under Alexander Dubček that had included the lifting of press controls. In the invasion's aftermath, the new leadership reimposed government controls of the press.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1968-czechoslovakia-normalization-censorship" }, { "slug": "1950-south-africa-suppression-of-communism-act", "title": "South Africa's Suppression of Communism Act lets the government ban publications and restrict individuals", "occurred_on": "1950-07-17", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "ZA", "country_name": "South Africa", "continent": "africa", "jurisdiction": "ZA", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "daniel-francois-malan", "leader_name": "Daniel François Malan", "issue_of_the_day": "South Africa's National Party government, elected in 1948 on a platform of apartheid racial segregation, used the act to suppress the Communist Party of South Africa and, more broadly, organized political opposition to its policies.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1991-07-31", "outcome_note": "The \"Internal Security and Intimidation Amendment Act\" repealed section 55 of the Suppression of Communism Act, which had prohibited furthering the aims of communism, on July 31, 1991; broader banning orders under the act and its successors had already been lifted the year before, in February 1990.{c:731}", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 21, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 21st of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1950s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Under Prime Minister Daniel François Malan, South Africa's parliament approved the Suppression of Communism Act in 1950, defining communism broadly enough to cover most opposition to apartheid. It let the government ban organizations and publications and forbid banned individuals from being quoted at all.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1950-south-africa-suppression-of-communism-act" }, { "slug": "1944-australia-calwell-newspaper-seizure", "title": "Australia's wartime government seizes a Sydney newspaper edition under press controls rules", "occurred_on": "1944-04-16", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "AU", "country_name": "Australia", "continent": "oceania", "jurisdiction": "AU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "john-curtin", "leader_name": "John Curtin", "issue_of_the_day": "Australia remained at war in the Pacific in 1944, and its wartime press controls apparatus, already the subject of tension with newspaper proprietors, moved against the Sunday Telegraph for material it judged to breach the press controls rules.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1944-04-18", "outcome_note": "The High Court of Australia granted an injunction days after the seizure, blocking further suppression of the newspaper's editions.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 33, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 33rd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1940s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Australia's wartime government, under Prime Minister John Curtin, controlled press coverage of military events through the Department of Information. In April 1944, Minister for Information Arthur Calwell ordered the seizure of copies of the Sydney Sunday Telegraph for breaching press controls rules, prompting newspapers' joint protest and a High Court injunction against the seizure.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1944-australia-calwell-newspaper-seizure" }, { "slug": "1939-brazil-vargas-creates-dip", "title": "Brazil's Vargas government creates a state messaging department with broad press powers", "occurred_on": "1939-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "BR", "country_name": "Brazil", "continent": "south-america", "jurisdiction": "BR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "getulio-vargas", "leader_name": "Getúlio Vargas", "issue_of_the_day": "Vargas had ruled by decree since 1937 under the Estado Novo and used the DIP to promote his government's program and nationalist agenda while suppressing coverage critical of his rule.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1945-01-01", "outcome_note": "The DIP was dissolved in 1945 when the military removed Vargas from power and the Estado Novo dictatorship ended.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 52, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 52nd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1930s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "President Getúlio Vargas created the Department of Press and state messaging in 1939 during Brazil's Estado Novo dictatorship, giving the government direct control over what newspapers, radio and film could publish. The department operated as a central instrument of press controls for six years, until the Estado Novo ended in 1945.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1939-brazil-vargas-creates-dip" }, { "slug": "1938-spain-franco-press-law", "title": "Franco's Spain requires state permission to be a journalist under a wartime Press Law", "occurred_on": "1938-04-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "ES", "country_name": "Spain", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "ES", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "credential_control", "tactics": [ "credential_control", "insult_and_defamation_laws", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "francisco-franco", "leader_name": "Francisco Franco", "issue_of_the_day": "Franco's Nationalist forces were still fighting Spain's civil war in April 1938 and used the new Press Law to consolidate direct control over which newspapers could exist and who could work as a journalist within them.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1977-04-01", "outcome_note": "Spain abolished prior press controls by decree in April 1977, after Franco's 1975 death, ahead of the 1978 constitution that guaranteed freedom of the press.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 29, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 29th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1930s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "While Spain's civil war continued, the Nationalist government led by Francisco Franco enacted a Press Law in April 1938 requiring government permission to found a newspaper, work as a journalist or direct a paper, alongside continued pre-publication press controls and years-long prison terms for vaguely defined offenses.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1938-spain-franco-press-law" }, { "slug": "1933-germany-editors-law", "title": "Nazi Germany's Editors Law bars Jewish journalists from the press and puts editors under state direction", "occurred_on": "1933-10-04", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "DE", "country_name": "Germany", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "DE", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "credential_control", "tactics": [ "credential_control", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "adolf-hitler", "leader_name": "Adolf Hitler", "issue_of_the_day": "Hitler's government, in power only since January 1933, was consolidating control over German public life and moved within months to bring newspapers and their editors directly under state and party direction.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1945-05-08", "outcome_note": "The Editors Law and the Reich Press Chamber ended with Nazi Germany's defeat and unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 14, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 14th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1930s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Nine months after Adolf Hitler became chancellor, Germany's Schriftleitergesetz, or Editors Law, required journalists to register with a new state-controlled Reich Press Chamber and barred non-Aryans from the profession, while directing editors to omit anything judged harmful to the Reich's standing.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1933-germany-editors-law" }, { "slug": "1933-portugal-salazar-formal-censorship", "title": "Portugal's Salazar government formally establishes press controls under a new constitution", "occurred_on": "1933-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "PT", "country_name": "Portugal", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "PT", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "antonio-salazar", "leader_name": "António de Oliveira Salazar", "issue_of_the_day": "Salazar's government was consolidating the Estado Novo behind a new 1933 constitution, and used the moment to formalize a system of press controls it had for years denied operating.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1974-04-25", "outcome_note": "Portugal's press controls apparatus ended with the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974, which overthrew the Estado Novo.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 10, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 10th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "era": "1930s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Portugal's government, led by Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, had restricted the press since a 1926 military coup while officially denying it did so. In 1933, alongside a new constitution promising freedom of expression, the government openly established formal press controls for the first time.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1933-portugal-salazar-formal-censorship" } ], "downloads": { "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?outcome=reversed&format=csv", "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents.json?outcome=reversed", "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents.md?outcome=reversed" }, "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" } }