Myanmar junta revokes five outlets' licenses and raids newsrooms after coup
Weeks after seizing power, Myanmar's military junta revoked the operating licenses of five independent media outlets covering protests against the coup and raided two of their newsrooms, seizing computers and files; journalists from the outlets were later arrested and charged under a broadened penal-code provision on spreading 'false news.'1
- Country
- Myanmar (RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180)
- Where
- MM
- Level of government
- National
- Tactics
- Licensing and closure of outlets, Detention and violence
- Stage
- Silence (see the ladder)
- Head of government at the time
- Min Aung Hlaing
- Issue of the day
- The outlets had been covering nationwide protests against the military's February 1, 2021 seizure of power from Myanmar's elected government, coverage the junta sought to stop by removing the outlets' legal authorization to operate.
- Outcome
- Sustained. The five outlets' licenses were not restored; CPJ counted at least 32 journalists still imprisoned as of July 2021.
- Era
- The 2020s
What happened
On March 8 and 9, 2021, Myanmar's military junta revoked the licenses of five independent outlets, Mizzima, Myanmar Now, 7Day News, Democratic Voice of Burma and Khit Thit Media, which had been covering protests against the February 1 coup. Soldiers and police raided Myanmar Now's Yangon office, seizing computers, documents and server equipment, and raided Mizzima's head office the following day. Two weeks after the coup, the junta had broadened Article 505(a) of the penal code to criminalize spreading what it called false news, raising the maximum penalty from two to three years in prison; journalists from the affected outlets were later arrested and charged under the provision while covering the protests. The Committee to Protect Journalists said the junta must immediately reverse the license suspensions and let the outlets resume normal operations.123
What reason was given
Myanmar's Ministry of Information did not respond to CPJ's request for comment explaining the license revocations; the junta separately said in public statements that it respected media freedom while warning outlets against using words like "coup" and "junta."123
What changed for reporting
Five of Myanmar's most prominent independent outlets lost their legal authority to operate inside the country, and reporting on the coup and its aftermath increasingly had to be produced from exile or underground.2
Timeline
2021
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Min Aung Hlaing | ordered | Chairman, Myanmar State Administration Council |
| Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) | enforced | Armed forces and ruling junta since the February 2021 coup |
Sources
- Myanmar military raids newsrooms, revokes 5 media outlets' licenses
- Bitter reversal: Myanmar military coup wipes out press freedom gains
Claims cited
- CPJ said the junta must reverse the license suspensions and let the outlets resume operating normally.
Myanmar's junta must immediately reverse its wrongheaded move to suspend local media groups' operating licenses
Myanmar military raids newsrooms, revokes 5 media outlets' licenses, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-03-09. Claim 407, checked 2026-09-22. - The military broadened a penal-code provision to criminalize spreading false news, raising the maximum penalty to three years.
false news
Bitter reversal: Myanmar military coup wipes out press freedom gains, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-07-01. Claim 408, checked 2026-09-22. - CPJ's census found at least 32 journalists imprisoned in Myanmar for their work as of July 1, 2021.
respects and values media freedom
Bitter reversal: Myanmar military coup wipes out press freedom gains, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2021-07-01. Claim 409, checked 2026-09-22.