{ "title": "Incidents", "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?page=5&view=cards", "filters": { "page": "5", "view": "cards" }, "sort": "date", "count": 226, "page": 5, "pages": 5, "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": "BD", "label": "Bangladesh", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 152, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 152nd of 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"https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "SV", "label": "El Salvador", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 143, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 143rd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/country/el-salvador" } }, { "value": "ER", "label": "Eritrea", "rsf": null }, { "value": "ET", "label": "Ethiopia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 148, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 148th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "GE", "label": "Georgia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 135, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 135th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "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": "GR", "label": "Greece", "rsf": null }, { "value": "GT", "label": "Guatemala", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 128, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 128th 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": "HK", "label": "Hong Kong", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 140, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 140th 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: 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"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": "SK", "label": "Slovakia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 37, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 37th 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": "TZ", "label": "Tanzania", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 117, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 117th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "TH", "label": "Thailand", "rsf": null }, { "value": "TN", "label": "Tunisia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 137, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 137th 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": "VE", "label": "Venezuela", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 159, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 159th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" } }, { "value": "VN", "label": "Viet Nam", "rsf": null }, { "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": 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Milosevic" }, { "value": "stanley-baldwin", "label": "Stanley Baldwin" }, { "value": "theodore-christianson", "label": "Theodore Christianson" }, { "value": "theodore-roosevelt", "label": "Theodore Roosevelt" }, { "value": "tim-walz", "label": "Tim Walz" }, { "value": "viktor-orban", "label": "Viktor Orban" }, { "value": "vladimir-lenin", "label": "Vladimir Lenin" }, { "value": "vladimir-putin", "label": "Vladimir Putin" }, { "value": "william-howard-taft", "label": "William Howard Taft" }, { "value": "william-lyon-mackenzie-king", "label": "William Lyon Mackenzie King" }, { "value": "wojciech-jaruzelski", "label": "Wojciech Jaruzelski" }, { "value": "woodrow-wilson", "label": "Woodrow Wilson" }, { "value": "xi-jinping", "label": "Xi Jinping" }, { "value": "yingluck-shinawatra", "label": "Yingluck Shinawatra" } ], "era": [ { "value": "2020s", "label": "2020s", "count": 102 }, { "value": "2010s", "label": "2010s", "count": 42 }, { "value": "1980s", "label": "1980s", "count": 12 }, { "value": "2000s", "label": "2000s", "count": 11 }, { "value": "1970s", "label": "1970s", "count": 11 }, { "value": "1930s", "label": "1930s", "count": 9 }, { "value": "1990s", "label": "1990s", "count": 8 }, { "value": "1960s", "label": "1960s", "count": 7 }, { "value": "1950s", "label": "1950s", "count": 6 }, { "value": "1910s", "label": "1910s", "count": 6 }, { "value": "1940s", "label": "1940s", "count": 5 }, { "value": "1920s", "label": "1920s", "count": 5 }, { "value": "1900s", "label": "1900s", "count": 2 } ], "year": [ { "value": "1901", "label": "1901", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1909", "label": "1909", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1913", "label": "1913", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1914", "label": "1914", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1917", "label": "1917", "count": 3 }, { "value": "1918", "label": "1918", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1922", "label": "1922", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1925", "label": "1925", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1926", "label": "1926", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1927", "label": "1927", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1933", "label": "1933", "count": 3 }, { "value": "1934", "label": "1934", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1937", "label": "1937", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1938", "label": "1938", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1939", "label": "1939", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1941", "label": "1941", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1942", "label": "1942", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1944", "label": "1944", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1948", "label": "1948", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1950", "label": "1950", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1951", "label": "1951", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1953", "label": "1953", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1955", "label": "1955", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1959", "label": "1959", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1960", "label": "1960", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1962", "label": "1962", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1968", "label": "1968", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1969", "label": "1969", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1971", "label": "1971", "count": 4 }, { "value": "1972", "label": "1972", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1973", "label": "1973", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1975", "label": "1975", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1976", "label": "1976", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1977", "label": "1977", "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": 2 }, { "value": "1986", "label": "1986", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1987", "label": "1987", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1988", "label": "1988", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1989", "label": "1989", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1990", "label": "1990", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1991", "label": "1991", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1995", "label": "1995", "count": 1 }, { "value": "1997", "label": "1997", "count": 2 }, { "value": "1998", "label": "1998", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2001", "label": "2001", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2002", "label": "2002", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2003", "label": "2003", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2005", "label": "2005", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2006", "label": "2006", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2007", "label": "2007", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2009", "label": "2009", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2010", "label": "2010", "count": 3 }, { "value": "2013", "label": "2013", "count": 9 }, { "value": "2014", "label": "2014", "count": 1 }, { "value": "2015", "label": "2015", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2016", "label": "2016", "count": 2 }, { "value": "2017", "label": "2017", "count": 4 }, { "value": "2018", "label": "2018", "count": 12 }, { "value": "2019", "label": "2019", "count": 9 }, { "value": "2020", "label": "2020", "count": 15 }, { "value": "2021", "label": "2021", "count": 13 }, { "value": "2022", "label": "2022", "count": 10 }, { "value": "2023", "label": "2023", "count": 15 }, { "value": "2024", "label": "2024", "count": 11 }, { "value": "2025", "label": "2025", "count": 29 }, { "value": "2026", "label": "2026", "count": 9 } ], "has_case": [ { "value": "0", "label": "without a court case", "count": 223 }, { "value": "1", "label": "with a court case", "count": 3 } ] }, "results": [ { "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": "1942-us-chicago-tribune-midway-espionage-act", "title": "United States: Justice Department investigates the Chicago Tribune under the Espionage Act over Battle of Midway coverage", "occurred_on": "1942-08-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "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": "franklin-d-roosevelt", "leader_name": "Franklin D. Roosevelt", "issue_of_the_day": "The Battle of Midway, fought in early June 1942, was a major turning point in the Pacific war, and the United States guarded its codebreaking success as one of the most sensitive secrets of the conflict.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1942-08-01", "outcome_note": "The federal grand jury investigating the Tribune and Johnston declined to issue any indictment.", "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": "1940s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The United States Department of Justice convened a federal grand jury to consider Espionage Act charges against the Chicago Tribune and correspondent Stanley Johnston after the newspaper published details suggesting the Navy had broken Japanese naval codes ahead of the Battle of Midway. The grand jury declined to return an indictment.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1942-us-chicago-tribune-midway-espionage-act" }, { "slug": "1941-us-office-of-censorship-wartime-press-code", "title": "United States creates an Office of Censorship and a wartime code for the press", "occurred_on": "1941-12-19", "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": "franklin-d-roosevelt", "leader_name": "Franklin D. Roosevelt", "issue_of_the_day": "The United States had just entered the Second World War after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the government wanted to prevent newspapers and broadcasters from unintentionally publishing information useful to enemy forces.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "1945-09-28", "outcome_note": "The Office of Censorship operated on the press's voluntary compliance through the war and was abolished by executive order after Japan's surrender.", "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": "1940s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Twelve days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt created the Office of Censorship. Its director, Byron Price, a former Associated Press editor, wrote a Code of Wartime Practices asking newspapers and broadcasters to withhold information such as troop movements, and most of the press followed it voluntarily.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1941-us-office-of-censorship-wartime-press-code" }, { "slug": "1941-greece-directorate-general-press-radio", "title": "Greece: collaborationist government creates a Directorate-General for Press and Radio to review films and publications before release", "occurred_on": "1941-05-08", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "GR", "country_name": "Greece", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "GR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "georgios-tsolakoglou", "leader_name": "Georgios Tsolakoglou", "issue_of_the_day": "The film and publication review apparatus operated during the Axis occupation of Greece, which began in April 1941 when Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria divided the country into occupation zones.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The Directorate-General continued to license and review films and publications, with German Embassy oversight, through the years covered by its surviving archive.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": null, "era": "1940s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The collaborationist government installed in occupied Greece created a Directorate-General for Press and Radio to take over and expand the prior review powers of the prewar Metaxas dictatorship, requiring official permission before films, plays, music, and publications could reach the public. German Embassy officials reviewed the same material and could overrule the Greek reviewers.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1941-greece-directorate-general-press-radio" }, { "slug": "1939-canada-defence-of-canada-regulations-censorship", "title": "Canada: War Measures Act regulations authorize review of hundreds of newspapers and ban political organizations", "occurred_on": "1939-09-03", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "CA", "country_name": "Canada", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "CA", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "william-lyon-mackenzie-king", "leader_name": "William Lyon Mackenzie King", "issue_of_the_day": "The Regulations took effect in the first days of Canada's involvement in the Second World War, one week before Canada's own declaration against Germany.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "1945-12-31", "outcome_note": "The Defence of Canada Regulations remained in force for the duration of the war and were replaced by similar legislation on December 31, 1945.", "stage": "silence", "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": "1930s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Canada invoked the War Measures Act at the outset of the Second World War and used it to bring in the Defence of Canada Regulations, which gave the government power to review and restrict hundreds of newspapers and periodicals and to ban dozens of organizations, including the Communist Party of Canada.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1939-canada-defence-of-canada-regulations-censorship" }, { "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": "1938-us-lovell-v-griffin-permit-requirement", "title": "United States: Supreme Court strikes down a Georgia city's permit requirement for distributing literature, 1938", "occurred_on": "1938-03-28", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-GA", "level": "municipal", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "eurith-d-rivers", "leader_name": "Eurith D. Rivers", "issue_of_the_day": "Lovell was a Jehovah's Witness distributing religious pamphlets and a magazine, activity that Griffin's ordinance treated the same as any other literature requiring a permit.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1938-03-28", "outcome_note": "The Supreme Court reversed Lovell's conviction and sent the case back for further proceedings consistent with its ruling.", "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": "1930s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The city of Griffin, Georgia, required written permission from the city manager before anyone could distribute pamphlets, circulars or magazines within its limits, treating unlicensed distribution as a punishable nuisance. Alma Lovell was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for distributing religious literature without a permit, and the Supreme Court of the United States reversed her conviction in 1938, ruling that the ordinance was invalid on its face.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1938-us-lovell-v-griffin-permit-requirement" }, { "slug": "1937-japan-newspaper-law-war-censorship", "title": "Japan: government requires clearance to publish war news under the Newspaper Law, 1937", "occurred_on": "1937-07-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "JP", "country_name": "Japan", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "JP", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "fumimaro-konoe", "leader_name": "Fumimaro Konoe", "issue_of_the_day": "Japan's full scale war with China, which began with the Marco Polo Bridge Incident on July 7, 1937, produced the war coverage that the government sought to control.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "By the government's own assessment, most newspapers were already shaping their coverage to what officials wanted before formal rejection was needed.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": null, "era": "1930s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "After Japan's war with China escalated into full scale conflict in July 1937, the government invoked Article 27 of the Newspaper Law to require government clearance before publishing war related news, while a Home Ministry directive to local officials banned the printing of what it called \"fallacies\" that could \"confuse the hearts of people and induce social unrest.\" By August 1937 the Army Ministry found that about eighty percent of submitted articles were approved, a result that reflected editors submitting only material they expected would pass.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1937-japan-newspaper-law-war-censorship" }, { "slug": "1934-us-louisiana-newspaper-tax-grosjean", "title": "United States: Louisiana taxes large newspapers' advertising revenue; the tax is struck down in Grosjean v. American Press Co.", "occurred_on": "1934-07-12", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-LA", "level": "state_or_province", "tactic_primary": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure" ], "leader_slug": "oscar-k-allen", "leader_name": "Oscar K. Allen", "issue_of_the_day": "The tax followed Senator Huey Long's rise to dominate Louisiana politics after his election to the United States Senate in 1932, and applied to the state's largest newspapers.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1936-02-10", "outcome_note": "The Supreme Court's ruling voided the tax and left Louisiana's large newspapers free of it.", "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": "1930s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Louisiana taxed the gross receipts that businesses earned from advertising in newspapers with circulations above 20,000 copies a week, a threshold that caught the state's largest papers. The Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously in 1936 that the tax operated as a restraint on advertising revenue and circulation, and struck it down.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1934-us-louisiana-newspaper-tax-grosjean" }, { "slug": "1933-germany-editors-law", "title": "Nazi Germany's Editors Law bars Jewish journalists, 1933", "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": "In 1933, Germany's Editors Law (Schriftleitergesetz) required journalists to register with a new state-controlled Reich Press Chamber and barred non-Aryans from the profession. Passed nine months after Adolf Hitler became chancellor, it also directed editors to omit anything judged harmful to the Reich's standing.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1933-germany-editors-law" }, { "slug": "1933-germany-reichstag-fire-decree-press-suspension", "title": "Germany: Reichstag Fire Decree suspends freedom of the press, February 1933", "occurred_on": "1933-02-28", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "DE", "country_name": "Germany", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "DE", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "adolf-hitler", "leader_name": "Adolf Hitler", "issue_of_the_day": "The decree followed Adolf Hitler's appointment as chancellor on January 30, 1933, and an earlier February 4 order that had already restricted the press and authorized police to ban political meetings and marches.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "1945-05-01", "outcome_note": "The decree remained in force until Germany's defeat in May 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": "Weeks after Adolf Hitler became German chancellor, the government used a fire that heavily damaged the Reichstag building to obtain President Paul von Hindenburg's approval for a decree suspending the constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press, along with the rights to assembly and free expression of opinion. The decree gave the government the power to arrest political opponents without specific charge, dissolve political organizations and suppress publications, and it remained in force until Germany's defeat in 1945.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1933-germany-reichstag-fire-decree-press-suspension" }, { "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" }, { "slug": "1931-us-near-v-minnesota-gag-law", "title": "Minnesota closes The Saturday Press in 1927; the Supreme Court strikes down the law in 1931", "occurred_on": "1927-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-MN", "level": "state_or_province", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "theodore-christianson", "leader_name": "Theodore Christianson", "issue_of_the_day": "The Saturday Press had run articles accusing Minneapolis officials, police and a local gangster of corruption and racketeering, allegations the county attorney treated as scandalous and defamatory under the state's 1925 nuisance law.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1931-06-01", "outcome_note": "The Supreme Court of the United States struck down the Minnesota law 5 to 4 as a restraint on publication in advance that the Constitution did not allow.", "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": "1920s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "A Hennepin County attorney used Minnesota's 1925 Public Nuisance Law to shut down The Saturday Press, a Minneapolis paper accusing officials of corruption. In 1931 the Supreme Court of the United States struck the law down, ruling that stopping a paper before publication was itself a form of press controls.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1931-us-near-v-minnesota-gag-law" }, { "slug": "1926-uk-general-strike-newsprint-requisition", "title": "United Kingdom: Government requisitions newsprint and restricts rival newspapers during the 1926 General Strike", "occurred_on": "1926-05-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "GB", "country_name": "United Kingdom", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "GB", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "tactics": [ "funding_and_ownership_pressure", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "stanley-baldwin", "leader_name": "Stanley Baldwin", "issue_of_the_day": "Britain was in the midst of a general strike called by the Trades Union Congress in May 1926 in support of coal miners in a dispute with mine owners, during which most independent newspapers could not print normally.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "1926-05-10", "outcome_note": "As of the exchanges recorded in Parliament on May 10, 1926, the newsprint embargo on rival newspapers remained in place while the government's own paper continued publishing with requisitioned supplies.", "stage": "pressure", "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": "1920s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "During the general strike called by the Trades Union Congress in May 1926, the British government requisitioned the country's available newsprint for its own newspaper, the British Gazette, and placed a provisional embargo on paper supplies to the Trades Union Congress's British Worker and many other newspapers. Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston Churchill defended the measures in the House of Commons as necessary to keep the government's own newspaper in production.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1926-uk-general-strike-newsprint-requisition" }, { "slug": "1926-dutch-east-indies-mawa-article-153bis", "title": "Dutch East Indies: Colonial authorities end publication of the communist newspaper Mawa under Penal Code Article 153 bis, 1926", "occurred_on": "1926-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "ID", "country_name": "Indonesia", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "ID", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "andries-de-graeff", "leader_name": "Andries Cornelis Dirk de Graeff", "issue_of_the_day": "Communist organizing was spreading among Indonesian workers' movements in the mid-1920s, and in November 1926 members of the Communist Party of the Indies rose up in Batavia and the Banten region, an uprising that colonial authorities put down.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "1926-01-01", "outcome_note": "Mawa did not resume publishing, and the colonial government's restrictions on communist-linked newspapers continued after the 1926 uprising.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "rsf": null, "era": "1920s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "In 1926, colonial authorities in the Dutch East Indies ended publication of Mawa, a newspaper linked to the Communist Association of the Indies in Soerakarta, through repeated use of Article 153 bis of the colonial Penal Code, which criminalized advocating the overthrow of the government. The action came in the same year that a new Governor-General took office and colonial authorities put down a communist uprising in Batavia and the Banten region.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1926-dutch-east-indies-mawa-article-153bis" }, { "slug": "1925-us-supreme-court-upholds-gitlow-anarchy-conviction", "title": "United States: Supreme Court upholds Benjamin Gitlow's conviction under New York's Criminal Anarchy Law, 1925", "occurred_on": "1925-06-08", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US-NY", "level": "state_or_province", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "al-smith", "leader_name": "Alfred E. Smith", "issue_of_the_day": "Fears of growing socialist and union activity during the Red Scare that followed the First World War led Congress and state legislatures, including New York's, to adopt new restrictions on radical speech and publishing.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "1925-06-08", "outcome_note": "The Supreme Court's decision upheld Gitlow's conviction and New York's Criminal Anarchy Law while establishing that free speech and press protections apply to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.", "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": "1920s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The United States Supreme Court voted seven to two on June 8, 1925 to uphold the conviction of socialist publisher Benjamin Gitlow, who had been tried and sentenced to prison under New York's 1902 Criminal Anarchy Law for distributing 16,000 copies of the Left Wing Manifesto. The Court also held for the first time that the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause extends free speech and press protections to state governments.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1925-us-supreme-court-upholds-gitlow-anarchy-conviction" }, { "slug": "1922-ussr-glavlit-censorship", "title": "Glavlit created: Soviet censorship office, 1922", "occurred_on": "1922-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "RU", "country_name": "Russia", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "RU", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "outlet_licensing", "prior_restraint" ], "leader_slug": "vladimir-lenin", "leader_name": "Vladimir Lenin", "issue_of_the_day": "The new Soviet government, having just consolidated power after years of revolution and civil war, sought a single, centrally controlled system to replace the uncoordinated military and civilian press controls bodies it had inherited.", "outcome": "ongoing", "outcome_on": "1989-01-01", "outcome_note": "Glavlit's authority over publishing was still largely intact through the 1980s, though its standards were relaxed from 1988 under Gorbachev's glasnost policy before its 1991 dissolution.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "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": "1920s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "In 1922, Soviet Russia created Glavlit, a single agency that reviewed newspapers, books, plays and even posters before they could be printed or performed. It was set up under Vladimir Lenin's government with final authority over what could appear. By 1930 no publication in the Soviet Union could appear without its approval.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1922-ussr-glavlit-censorship" }, { "slug": "1918-us-espionage-act-conviction-of-editor-frohwerk", "title": "United States convicts newspaper editor Jacob Frohwerk under the Espionage Act, June 1918", "occurred_on": "1918-06-26", "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": "woodrow-wilson", "leader_name": "Woodrow Wilson", "issue_of_the_day": "The United States had entered the First World War in April 1917 and introduced a national draft, and federal prosecutors brought Espionage Act cases against numerous newspapers and speakers who opposed the war effort.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "1919-03-10", "outcome_note": "The Supreme Court's ruling left Frohwerk's conviction and ten year sentence in place.", "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": "1910s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Jacob Frohwerk, an associate editor of the German language newspaper the Missouri Staats-Zeitung, was tried and convicted in June 1918 under the Espionage Act of 1917 for publishing articles opposing American participation in the First World War, and was sentenced to ten years in prison on each of twelve counts, to run concurrently. The Supreme Court of the United States upheld the conviction on March 10, 1919.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1918-us-espionage-act-conviction-of-editor-frohwerk" }, { "slug": "1917-us-espionage-act-bars-the-masses-from-the-mail", "title": "United States postmaster bars the magazine The Masses from the mail under the Espionage Act", "occurred_on": "1917-07-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "woodrow-wilson", "leader_name": "Woodrow Wilson", "issue_of_the_day": "The United States had entered the First World War three months earlier and introduced a military draft. The Masses had run cartoons and articles opposing the war and conscription, which the Post Office treated as material likely to obstruct recruiting.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "1917-11-01", "outcome_note": "The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed Judge Hand's order later in 1917, and the Post Office's mail ban on The Masses stood.", "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": "1910s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Weeks after the United States entered the First World War, the New York postmaster used the new Espionage Act, a law against interfering with military recruitment, to bar the socialist magazine The Masses from the mail. A judge's order protecting the magazine was reversed on appeal.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1917-us-espionage-act-bars-the-masses-from-the-mail" }, { "slug": "1917-us-mother-earth-editor-emma-goldman-convicted-magazine-barred-from-mail", "title": "United States convicts Mother Earth editor Emma Goldman of draft conspiracy and bars her magazine from the mail", "occurred_on": "1917-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "detention_and_violence", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "expulsion_and_visa_denial", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "woodrow-wilson", "leader_name": "Woodrow Wilson", "issue_of_the_day": "The United States had entered the First World War in April 1917 and introduced a national draft that spring, and federal authorities moved against anarchists, socialists and other war opponents under new wartime laws.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "1918-01-14", "outcome_note": "Goldman's conviction stood, and she was deported from the United States in 1919.", "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": "1910s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Emma Goldman, editor of the anarchist magazine Mother Earth, was convicted with fellow anarchist Alexander Berkman of conspiring against the newly enacted Selective Draft Law and received the maximum two year sentence and a ten thousand dollar fine. Postal authorities then withdrew Mother Earth's second class mailing privileges, and Goldman was deported from the United States in 1919.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1917-us-mother-earth-editor-emma-goldman-convicted-magazine-barred-from-mail" }, { "slug": "1917-us-burleson-mail-ban-milwaukee-leader", "title": "United States Postmaster General Burleson strips the Milwaukee Leader of its mailing rate", "occurred_on": "1917-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking", "tactics": [ "secrets_and_espionage_laws", "shutdowns_and_blocking" ], "leader_slug": "woodrow-wilson", "leader_name": "Woodrow Wilson", "issue_of_the_day": "The Leader had published articles criticizing United States participation in the First World War and the draft, which the Post Office treated as violations of the Espionage Act's ban on obstructing military recruitment.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "1921-03-07", "outcome_note": "The Supreme Court upheld the revocation of the Leader's mailing rate 7 to 2 in United States ex rel. Milwaukee Social Democratic Publishing Co. v. Burleson.", "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": "1910s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Postmaster General Albert Burleson used the wartime Espionage Act to strip the Milwaukee Leader, a socialist daily, of its low-cost second-class mailing rate, cutting off its main channel to readers. The Supreme Court upheld the revocation in 1921, over two dissents warning it amounted to press controls.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1917-us-burleson-mail-ban-milwaukee-leader" }, { "slug": "1914-britain-press-bureau-controls-wartime-newspaper-coverage", "title": "Britain's Official Press Bureau controls newspaper coverage of the First World War", "occurred_on": "1914-08-27", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "GB", "country_name": "United Kingdom", "continent": "europe", "jurisdiction": "GB", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "prior_restraint", "tactics": [ "prior_restraint", "secrets_and_espionage_laws" ], "leader_slug": "herbert-asquith", "leader_name": "Herbert Henry Asquith", "issue_of_the_day": "Britain had just entered the First World War, and the government sought to prevent newspapers from publishing information that might aid German forces or reveal the movements of British troops.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "1914-11-12", "outcome_note": "The Press Bureau continued controlling war news months later, when members of Parliament again raised complaints in the House of Commons on November 12, 1914.", "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": "1910s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "Weeks after Britain entered the First World War, Prime Minister Herbert Asquith told the House of Commons that the Official Press Bureau was the sole channel through which the Admiralty, the War Office and other departments released naval and military information to newspapers. Members of Parliament later complained in the Commons that the Bureau delayed and withheld war news from the public.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1914-britain-press-bureau-controls-wartime-newspaper-coverage" }, { "slug": "1913-ottoman-empire-press-law-bars-officials-from-editing-newspapers", "title": "Ottoman Empire bars lawmakers and officials from editing newspapers and jails a leading editor", "occurred_on": "1913-03-09", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "TR", "country_name": "Türkiye", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "TR", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing", "tactics": [ "detention_and_violence", "outlet_licensing" ], "leader_slug": "mehmed-v", "leader_name": "Mehmed V", "issue_of_the_day": "The Committee of Union and Progress had just retaken control of the Ottoman government in a coup in January 1913, after a period in which opposition newspapers had used loopholes in the 1909 press law to keep publishing despite suspension orders.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "1913-03-09", "outcome_note": "The March 1913 amendment and its retroactive ban on lawmakers and officials editing newspapers remained the law under the Committee of Union and Progress government.", "stage": "silence", "ladder_note": null, "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": "1910s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "In March 1913 the Ottoman government amended its 1909 press law, barring members of parliament and state officials from serving as newspaper editors and applying the ban retroactively to every periodical already in print. The revision followed the martial court prosecution of Tanin editor Huseyin Cahid, who was jailed for continuing to publish after a protest suspension in 1912.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1913-ottoman-empire-press-law-bars-officials-from-editing-newspapers" }, { "slug": "1909-us-panama-canal-libel-prosecutions", "title": "United States: President Theodore Roosevelt seeks criminal libel indictments against the New York World and the Indianapolis News over Panama Canal reporting", "occurred_on": "1909-03-04", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "country": "US", "country_name": "United States", "continent": "north-america", "jurisdiction": "US", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "insult_and_defamation_laws", "lawsuits_against_press" ], "leader_slug": "theodore-roosevelt", "leader_name": "Theodore Roosevelt", "issue_of_the_day": "The New York World and the Indianapolis News had published reports on who had profited from the United States' purchase of the Panama Canal, reports that Roosevelt disputed as libelous.", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "1911-01-03", "outcome_note": "The Supreme Court's 1911 ruling that no federal criminal libel law existed for offenses on federal enclaves left the World and the News without convictions and was later described as an early safeguard for the freedom of the press.", "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": "1900s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "President Theodore Roosevelt sought federal criminal libel indictments against the publishers of the New York World and the Indianapolis News after they reported that he and other officials had profited from the United States' purchase of the Panama Canal. Federal courts in New York and Indiana dismissed the indictments, and the Supreme Court upheld that result in 1911.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1909-us-panama-canal-libel-prosecutions" }, { "slug": "1901-philippines-us-colonial-libel-act-el-renacimiento", "title": "Philippines: United States colonial government's libel law is used to close the newspaper El Renacimiento", "occurred_on": "1901-01-01", "occurred_on_precision": "year", "country": "PH", "country_name": "Philippines", "continent": "asia", "jurisdiction": "PH", "level": "national", "tactic_primary": "insult_and_defamation_laws", "tactics": [ "insult_and_defamation_laws", "lawsuits_against_press" ], "leader_slug": "william-howard-taft", "leader_name": "William Howard Taft", "issue_of_the_day": "El Renacimiento was a newspaper that supported Philippine independence during United States colonial rule, and its 1908 editorial criticizing unnamed colonial officials as birds of prey drew a libel suit from Secretary of the Interior Dean C. Worcester.", "outcome": "upheld", "outcome_on": "1914-01-01", "outcome_note": "Kalaw and Ocampo's convictions were affirmed on appeal, and Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison pardoned Ocampo in 1914, after the fine had already forced the paper to close.", "stage": "punish", "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": "1900s", "granularity": "anchor", "status": "historical", "case_count": 0, "summary": "The United States colonial government in the Philippines enacted a criminal libel law in 1901 that Governor-General William Howard Taft defended by saying Filipinos were unused to the freedom of the press. The law was used in 1908 to convict the editors and publisher of the pro-independence newspaper El Renacimiento over an editorial criticizing colonial officials, and the resulting fine forced the paper to close.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1901-philippines-us-colonial-libel-act-el-renacimiento" } ], "downloads": { "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?page=5&view=cards&format=csv", "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents.json?page=5&view=cards", "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents.md?page=5&view=cards" }, "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" } }