Ethiopia: Economist correspondent Tom Gardner expelled

Published 2026-09-23. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 1 source.

Status: in effect, as of 2026-09-22.

What we don't know: The sources reviewed do not specify which standards of conduct the authority said Gardner failed to meet.

Ethiopia's media regulator revoked The Economist correspondent Tom Gardner's press accreditation and gave him 48 hours to leave the country, citing unspecified conduct, almost a year after expelling a New York Times reporter.¹²³

Country: Ethiopia (RSF 2026 rank: 148th of 180)
Where: ET
Level of government: National
Tactic: Expulsion and visa denial
Stage: Punish (see the ladder)
Ladder note: Ethiopia gave a foreign correspondent 48 hours to leave over unspecified conduct, the second such expulsion in a year; the White House ban restricted access to the briefing room, not to the country itself.
Head of government at the time: Abiy Ahmed
Issue of the day: Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Outcome: Sustained, May 13, 2022. The expulsion was carried out and was not reported as reversed in the sources reviewed.
Era: The 2020s

What happened

On May 13, 2022, Ethiopia's Media Authority revoked the press accreditation of Tom Gardner, a correspondent for The Economist who had reported from the country for several years, and ordered him to leave within 48 hours. The authority said Gardner had failed to meet unspecified standards of conduct for journalists; weeks earlier, in March 2022, officials had accused him of posting information on social media that was not properly sourced or supported by government authorities. Gardner's expulsion came almost a year after Ethiopian authorities similarly expelled New York Times correspondent Simon Marks in May 2021, during the country's civil war with forces from the Tigray region. The Economist said Gardner's reporting on Ethiopia had been professional and unbiased.¹²³

Closed; Gardner left the country within the 48-hour deadline.¹²³

What reason was given

"failed to live to [the] standards of conduct for journalists"¹

What changed for reporting

The expulsion removed one of the few remaining Western correspondents reporting on Ethiopia's civil war from inside the country, following a similar expulsion the year before.²

Timeline

2022

May 13, 2022

Ethiopia: Economist correspondent Tom Gardner expelled

Who acted

Name	Role in this incident	Office at the time
Abiy Ahmed	other	Prime Minister of Ethiopia
Ethiopian Media Authority	other	Broadcast and media regulator

Outlets and journalists

Name	Kind	Relation
The Economist	outlet	affected
The New York Times	outlet	affected
Simon Marks	journalist, The New York Times	affected
Tom Gardner	journalist, The Economist	affected

Sources

Ethiopia expels Economist correspondent Tom GardnerCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2022-05-16, reporting. Source record

Claims cited

The regulator's stated reason for revoking accreditation. failed to live to [the] standards of conduct for journalists Ethiopia expels Economist correspondent Tom Gardner, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-05-16. Claim 536, checked 2026-09-22.
The outlet's response to the expulsion. Gardner's reporting on Ethiopia has been professional, unbiased and often courageous. Ethiopia expels Economist correspondent Tom Gardner, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-05-16. Claim 537, checked 2026-09-22.
Reference tying Gardner's case to the earlier expulsion of a New York Times reporter. Gardner's expulsion came almost a year after Ethiopian authorities similarly expelled New York Times reporter Simon Marks Ethiopia expels Economist correspondent Tom Gardner, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-05-16. Claim 638, checked 2026-09-22.