The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, 1900 to today

The record

Incidents in Asia, outcome reversed

Each incident is a dated action by a government, an official, a regulator, a court or a legislature that limited journalists' ability to gather or publish news.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

All filters: country, dates, head of government, sort
CountryAzerbaijanIndia, RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180Iran, RSF 2026 rank: 177th of 180Myanmar, RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180North KoreaPhilippines, RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180South Korea, RSF 2026 rank: 47th of 180Türkiye, RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180
ContinentAsia
TacticDetention and violence 5Prior restraint 3Shutdowns and blocking 2Secrets and espionage laws 2Licensing and closure of outlets 2Official labels 1Credential control 1
StagePressure 2Punish 1Silence 4Eliminate 3
OutcomeReversed 10
LevelNational 10
Head of governmentAung San Suu KyiChun Doo-hwanFerdinand MarcosHassan RouhaniIlham AliyevIndira GandhiKim Jong IlNarendra ModiRecep Tayyip ErdoğanRodrigo Duterte

10 incidents match this view.

TableCardsCSVJSONMarkdown
DateIncidentCountryTacticHead of governmentOutcome
March 2024Bombay High Court strikes down India's government 'fact check unit' ruleIndia (RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180)Official labelsNarendra ModiReversed (20 September 2024)
1 April 2021Turkiye: the presidency's press card system is found restrictive by the country's top administrative courtTürkiye (RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180)Credential controlRecep Tayyip ErdoğanReversed (1 April 2021)
16 November 2019Iran: near-total internet shutdown during fuel-price protestsIran (RSF 2026 rank: 177th of 180)Shutdowns and blockingHassan RouhaniReversed (23 November 2019)
13 February 2019Philippines: Rappler's Maria Ressa arrested over cyber libel casePhilippines (RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180)Detention and violenceRodrigo DuterteReversed (14 February 2019)
3 September 2018Myanmar sentences two Reuters journalists to seven years under the Official Secrets Act for reporting on a massacreMyanmar (RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180)Secrets and espionage lawsAung San Suu KyiReversed (7 May 2019)
1 September 2015Azerbaijan: investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova sentenced to 7.5 yearsAzerbaijan (RSF rank: not recorded)Detention and violenceIlham AliyevReversed (25 May 2016)
8 June 2009North Korea: American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee are sentenced to hard laborNorth Korea (RSF rank: not recorded)Secrets and espionage lawsKim Jong IlReversed (4 August 2009)
31 July 1980South Korea's martial-law government purges journalists who resisted press controlsSouth Korea (RSF 2026 rank: 47th of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsChun Doo-hwanReversed (1 June 1987)
26 June 1975India imposes pre-press controls on every newspaper during the 1975 EmergencyIndia (RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180)Prior restraintIndira GandhiReversed (21 March 1977)
21 September 1972Philippines President Marcos closes every major news outlet under martial lawPhilippines (RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180)Shutdowns and blockingFerdinand MarcosReversed (25 February 1986)
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