{
  "id": 107,
  "slug": "2021-myanmar-junta-revokes-media-licenses",
  "title": "Myanmar junta revokes five outlets' licenses and raids newsrooms after coup",
  "occurred_on": "2021-03-08",
  "occurred_on_precision": "day",
  "ended_on": null,
  "jurisdiction": "MM",
  "country": "MM",
  "continent": "asia",
  "level": "national",
  "type": null,
  "tactic_primary": "outlet_licensing",
  "leader_slug": "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",
  "outcome_on": null,
  "outcome_note": "The five outlets' licenses were not restored; CPJ counted at least 32 journalists still imprisoned as of July 2021.",
  "granularity": "granular",
  "era": "2020s",
  "summary": "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.'{c:407}",
  "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.{c:407}{c:408}{c:409}",
  "stated_justification": "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.\"{c:407}{c:408}{c:409}",
  "effect_on_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.{c:408}",
  "unknowns": null,
  "status": "in_effect",
  "status_updated_on": "2026-09-22",
  "external_ids": {},
  "illustration_key": null,
  "pub_state": "published",
  "published_at": "2026-09-22T23:15:53Z",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22",
  "next_review_on": "2026-12-22",
  "revision": 5,
  "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:15:48Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-23T00:10:14Z",
  "stage": "silence",
  "ladder_note": null,
  "country_name": "Myanmar",
  "tactics": [
    "outlet_licensing",
    "detention_and_violence"
  ],
  "leader": {
    "slug": "min-aung-hlaing",
    "name": "Min Aung Hlaing",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/min-aung-hlaing"
  },
  "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-myanmar-junta-revokes-media-licenses",
  "page_meta": {
    "published": "2026-09-22T23:15:53Z",
    "reviewed": "2026-09-22",
    "sources": 2,
    "status": "in_effect",
    "statusAsOf": "2026-09-22",
    "unknowns": null
  },
  "actors": [
    {
      "slug": "min-aung-hlaing",
      "name": "Min Aung Hlaing",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "ordered",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/min-aung-hlaing"
    },
    {
      "slug": "myanmar-military",
      "name": "Myanmar military (Tatmadaw)",
      "kind": "body",
      "role": "enforced",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/myanmar-military"
    }
  ],
  "outlets": [],
  "journalists": [],
  "cases": [],
  "related": [],
  "events": [],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": 407,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 107,
      "field": "occurred_on",
      "value": "2021-03-08",
      "statement": "CPJ said the junta must reverse the license suspensions and let the outlets resume operating normally.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 290,
      "evidence_quote": "Myanmar's junta must immediately reverse its wrongheaded move to suspend local media groups' operating licenses",
      "evidence_date": "2021-03-09",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:15:49Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 290,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2021/03/myanmar-military-raids-newsrooms-revokes-5-media-outlets-licenses/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2021/03/myanmar-military-raids-newsrooms-revokes-5-media-outlets-licenses/",
        "title": "Myanmar military raids newsrooms, revokes 5 media outlets' licenses",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2021-03-09",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/407"
    },
    {
      "id": 408,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 107,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "Article 505(a) broadened to criminalize 'false news'",
      "statement": "The military broadened a penal-code provision to criminalize spreading false news, raising the maximum penalty to three years.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 291,
      "evidence_quote": "false news",
      "evidence_date": "2021-07-01",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:15:49Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 291,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/reports/2021/07/bitter-reversal-myanmar-journalists-jailed-imprisoned-military-crackdown/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/reports/2021/07/bitter-reversal-myanmar-journalists-jailed-imprisoned-military-crackdown/",
        "title": "Bitter reversal: Myanmar military coup wipes out press freedom gains",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2021-07-01",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/408"
    },
    {
      "id": 409,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 107,
      "field": "status",
      "value": "At least 32 journalists imprisoned by July 2021",
      "statement": "CPJ's census found at least 32 journalists imprisoned in Myanmar for their work as of July 1, 2021.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 291,
      "evidence_quote": "respects and values media freedom",
      "evidence_date": "2021-07-01",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v2-research-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-22T23:15:50Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 291,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/reports/2021/07/bitter-reversal-myanmar-journalists-jailed-imprisoned-military-crackdown/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/reports/2021/07/bitter-reversal-myanmar-journalists-jailed-imprisoned-military-crackdown/",
        "title": "Bitter reversal: Myanmar military coup wipes out press freedom gains",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2021-07-01",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/409"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": 290,
      "url": "https://cpj.org/2021/03/myanmar-military-raids-newsrooms-revokes-5-media-outlets-licenses/",
      "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2021/03/myanmar-military-raids-newsrooms-revokes-5-media-outlets-licenses/",
      "title": "Myanmar military raids newsrooms, revokes 5 media outlets' licenses",
      "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
      "published_on": "2021-03-09",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
      "wayback_saved_at": null
    },
    {
      "id": 291,
      "url": "https://cpj.org/reports/2021/07/bitter-reversal-myanmar-journalists-jailed-imprisoned-military-crackdown/",
      "final_url": "https://cpj.org/reports/2021/07/bitter-reversal-myanmar-journalists-jailed-imprisoned-military-crackdown/",
      "title": "Bitter reversal: Myanmar military coup wipes out press freedom gains",
      "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
      "published_on": "2021-07-01",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T23:23:23Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
      "wayback_saved_at": null
    }
  ],
  "revisions_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-myanmar-junta-revokes-media-licenses/revisions",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite_as": "Myanmar junta revokes five outlets' licenses and raids newsrooms after coup. The War On News, thewaronnews.com. https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-myanmar-junta-revokes-media-licenses. Retrieved 2026-09-23."
}