{
  "id": 164,
  "slug": "2022-ethiopia-expels-tom-gardner",
  "title": "Ethiopia: Economist correspondent Tom Gardner expelled",
  "occurred_on": "2022-05-13",
  "occurred_on_precision": "day",
  "ended_on": null,
  "jurisdiction": "ET",
  "country": "ET",
  "continent": "africa",
  "level": "national",
  "type": null,
  "tactic_primary": "expulsion_and_visa_denial",
  "leader_slug": "abiy-ahmed",
  "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.",
  "outcome": "sustained",
  "outcome_on": "2022-05-13",
  "outcome_note": "The expulsion was carried out and was not reported as reversed in the sources reviewed.",
  "granularity": "granular",
  "era": "2020s",
  "summary": "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.{c:536}{c:537}{c:638}",
  "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.{c:536}{c:537}{c:638}\n\nClosed; Gardner left the country within the 48-hour deadline.{c:536}{c:537}{c:638}",
  "stated_justification": "\"failed to live to [the] standards of conduct for journalists\"{c:536}",
  "effect_on_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.{c:537}",
  "unknowns": "The sources reviewed do not specify which standards of conduct the authority said Gardner failed to meet.",
  "status": "in_effect",
  "status_updated_on": "2026-09-22",
  "external_ids": {},
  "illustration_key": null,
  "pub_state": "published",
  "published_at": "2026-09-23T01:18:35Z",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22",
  "next_review_on": "2026-12-22",
  "revision": 9,
  "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:18:29Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-23T02:21:40Z",
  "stage": "punish",
  "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.",
  "country_name": "Ethiopia",
  "tactics": [
    "expulsion_and_visa_denial"
  ],
  "leader": {
    "slug": "abiy-ahmed",
    "name": "Abiy Ahmed",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/abiy-ahmed"
  },
  "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-ethiopia-expels-tom-gardner",
  "page_meta": {
    "published": "2026-09-23T01:18:35Z",
    "reviewed": "2026-09-22",
    "sources": 2,
    "status": "in_effect",
    "statusAsOf": "2026-09-22",
    "unknowns": "The sources reviewed do not specify which standards of conduct the authority said Gardner failed to meet."
  },
  "actors": [
    {
      "slug": "abiy-ahmed",
      "name": "Abiy Ahmed",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/abiy-ahmed"
    },
    {
      "slug": "ethiopian-media-authority",
      "name": "Ethiopian Media Authority",
      "kind": "body",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/ethiopian-media-authority"
    }
  ],
  "outlets": [
    {
      "slug": "the-economist",
      "name": "The Economist",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/the-economist"
    },
    {
      "slug": "new-york-times",
      "name": "The New York Times",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/new-york-times"
    }
  ],
  "journalists": [
    {
      "slug": "simon-marks",
      "name": "Simon Marks",
      "outlet": "new-york-times",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/simon-marks"
    },
    {
      "slug": "tom-gardner",
      "name": "Tom Gardner",
      "outlet": "the-economist",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/tom-gardner"
    }
  ],
  "cases": [],
  "related": [],
  "events": [],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": 536,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 164,
      "field": "stated_justification",
      "value": "Authority cites failure to meet conduct standards",
      "statement": "The regulator's stated reason for revoking accreditation.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 379,
      "evidence_quote": "failed to live to [the] standards of conduct for journalists",
      "evidence_date": "2022-05-16",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:18:32Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 379,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2022/05/ethiopia-expels-economist-correspondent-tom-gardner/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2022/05/ethiopia-expels-economist-correspondent-tom-gardner/",
        "title": "Ethiopia expels Economist correspondent Tom Gardner",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2022-05-16",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/536"
    },
    {
      "id": 537,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 164,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "The Economist calls Gardner's reporting professional and unbiased",
      "statement": "The outlet's response to the expulsion.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 379,
      "evidence_quote": "Gardner's reporting on Ethiopia has been professional, unbiased and often courageous.",
      "evidence_date": "2022-05-16",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:18:33Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 379,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2022/05/ethiopia-expels-economist-correspondent-tom-gardner/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2022/05/ethiopia-expels-economist-correspondent-tom-gardner/",
        "title": "Ethiopia expels Economist correspondent Tom Gardner",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2022-05-16",
        "link_state": "live",
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      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/537"
    },
    {
      "id": 638,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 164,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "Expulsion follows a similar 2021 case",
      "statement": "Reference tying Gardner's case to the earlier expulsion of a New York Times reporter.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 379,
      "evidence_quote": "Gardner's expulsion came almost a year after Ethiopian authorities similarly expelled New York Times reporter Simon Marks",
      "evidence_date": "2022-05-16",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:34:01Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 379,
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        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2022/05/ethiopia-expels-economist-correspondent-tom-gardner/",
        "title": "Ethiopia expels Economist correspondent Tom Gardner",
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        "wayback_url": null,
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      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/638"
    },
    {
      "id": 712,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 164,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "accreditation withdrawn, May 13",
      "statement": "Ahram Online, carrying an AFP wire report, said Ethiopia's government withdrew the press accreditation of Tom Gardner, The Economist's correspondent in Addis Ababa, on May 13, 2022.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 455,
      "evidence_quote": "On May 13th Ethiopia's government withdrew the press accreditation of Tom Gardner, The Economist's correspondent in Addis Ababa",
      "evidence_date": "2022-05-16",
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      "confidence": "medium",
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      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v3-second-sources-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T02:21:40Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 455,
        "url": "https://english.ahram.org.eg/UI/Front/Inner.aspx?NewsContentID=466313",
        "final_url": "https://english.ahram.org.eg/UI/Front/Inner.aspx?NewsContentID=466313",
        "title": "Ethiopia expels The Economist correspondent - Africa - World",
        "publisher": "Ahram Online (AFP wire)",
        "published_on": "2022-05-16",
        "link_state": "bot_blocked",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-23T02:35:35Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/712"
    }
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  "sources": [
    {
      "id": 379,
      "url": "https://cpj.org/2022/05/ethiopia-expels-economist-correspondent-tom-gardner/",
      "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2022/05/ethiopia-expels-economist-correspondent-tom-gardner/",
      "title": "Ethiopia expels Economist correspondent Tom Gardner",
      "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
      "published_on": "2022-05-16",
      "link_state": "live",
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      "wayback_url": null,
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    {
      "id": 455,
      "url": "https://english.ahram.org.eg/UI/Front/Inner.aspx?NewsContentID=466313",
      "final_url": "https://english.ahram.org.eg/UI/Front/Inner.aspx?NewsContentID=466313",
      "title": "Ethiopia expels The Economist correspondent - Africa - World",
      "publisher": "Ahram Online (AFP wire)",
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  "revisions_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-ethiopia-expels-tom-gardner/revisions",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite_as": "Ethiopia: Economist correspondent Tom Gardner expelled. The War On News, thewaronnews.com. https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2022-ethiopia-expels-tom-gardner. Retrieved 2026-09-23."
}