The War On News

How governments have limited journalists, 1900 to today.

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Incidents, national level, outcome ongoing

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.

21 incidents match this view.

Country: United States (10) Serbia (1) Ethiopia (1) Bangladesh (1) Türkiye (1) Guatemala (1) India (1) Venezuela (1) Myanmar (1) Egypt (1) Israel (1) Russia (1)

Continent: North America (11) Asia (5) Europe (2) Africa (2) South America (1)

Tactic: Detention and violence (6) Access bans (4) Funding and ownership pressure (4) Prior restraint (4) Credential control (3) Lawsuits against the press (3) Licensing and closure of outlets (3) Surveillance and subpoenas (1) Official labels (1) Insult and defamation laws (1) Shutdowns and blocking (1) Expulsion and visa denial (1)

Outcome: Ongoing (21)

Level: National (21)

Head of government: Donald Trump (10) Aleksandar Vucic (1) Abiy Ahmed (1) Muhammad Yunus (1) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (1) Alejandro Giammattei (1) Narendra Modi (1) Nicolas Maduro (1) Saw Maung (1) Gamal Abdel Nasser (1) David Ben-Gurion (1) Vladimir Lenin (1)

DateIncidentCountryTacticHead of governmentOutcome
September 18, 2026United States: White House hard-pass deactivations for CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters, September 2026United StatesAccess bansDonald TrumpOngoing (September 21, 2026)
April 28, 2026Appeals court orders FCC to respond to challenge over 'news distortion' policyUnited StatesFunding and ownership pressureDonald TrumpOngoing (April 28, 2026)
October 15, 2025United States: News organizations turn in their Pentagon press credentials, October 2025United StatesCredential controlDonald TrumpOngoing (April 9, 2026)
September 19, 2025United States: Department of Defense press credential rules requiring approval before release of information, September 2025United StatesCredential controlDonald TrumpOngoing (April 9, 2026)
September 16, 2025Trump files, then refiles, $15 billion defamation suit against the New York TimesUnited StatesLawsuits against the pressDonald TrumpOngoing (October 16, 2025)
September 5, 2025Serbian police strike, detain and disarm journalists covering anti-government protestsSerbiaDetention and violenceAleksandar VucicOngoing
September 3, 2025Ethiopia arrests at least six journalists including Sheger FM staff over election-year coverageEthiopiaDetention and violenceAbiy AhmedOngoing (September 22, 2025)
July 18, 2025Trump sues Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch over Epstein birthday letter storyUnited StatesLawsuits against the pressDonald TrumpOngoing
March 15, 2025United States: U.S. Agency for Global Media action to shut down Voice of America operations, March 2025United StatesFunding and ownership pressureDonald TrumpOngoing (March 28, 2025)
February 11, 2025United States: White House exclusion of the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One, February 2025United StatesAccess bansDonald TrumpOngoing (July 22, 2025)
February 3, 2025Journalists beaten in Bangladesh in separate incidents as interim government drafts new cyber lawsBangladeshDetention and violenceMuhammad YunusOngoing
January 29, 2025FCC chair reopens 'news distortion' complaints against CBS and NBCUnited StatesFunding and ownership pressureDonald TrumpOngoing
December 16, 2024Trump sues Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer over final Iowa pollUnited StatesLawsuits against the pressDonald TrumpOngoing (July 10, 2026)
November 1, 2023Turkish authorities detain three journalists under 'disinformation' lawTürkiyeInsult and defamation lawsRecep Tayyip ErdoğanOngoing
June 14, 2023Guatemala convicts investigative journalist Jose Ruben Zamora on money-laundering chargeGuatemalaDetention and violenceAlejandro GiammatteiOngoing
August 5, 2019India imposes a communications blackout in Jammu and Kashmir after revoking the region's special statusIndiaShutdowns and blockingNarendra ModiOngoing (August 5, 2020)
September 1, 2017Venezuela expels or denies entry to dozens of foreign journalists covering anti-government protestsVenezuelaExpulsion and visa denialNicolas MaduroOngoing (January 25, 2018)
September 18, 1988Burma's new military government tightens pre-publication press controls after seizing powerMyanmarPrior restraintSaw MaungOngoing (January 1, 1989)
May 24, 1960Egypt's Nasser government nationalizes every newspaper and magazine in the countryEgyptFunding and ownership pressureGamal Abdel NasserOngoing (January 1, 1989)
1948Israel retains a British-era law giving the military the power to review and restrict the pressIsraelPrior restraintDavid Ben-GurionOngoing (January 1, 1989)
1922Soviet Russia creates Glavlit, a central office to review all printed material before publicationRussiaPrior restraintVladimir LeninOngoing (January 1, 1989)
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