The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

The record

Incidents: detention and violence, state or province level

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

4 incidents match this view.

Hong KongRSF 2026 rank: 140th of 180

China (Hong Kong): conviction and 20-year sentence of the media owner Jimmy Lai under the National Security Law, 2025 to 2026

On December 15, 2025, the High Court of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China with its own courts, convicted Jimmy Lai, founder of the newspaper Apple Daily, on two counts of "conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign force…

Detention and violence · Stage Eliminate · Head of government John Lee · Sustained

United StatesRSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180

United States: Supreme Court upholds Benjamin Gitlow's conviction under New York's Criminal Anarchy Law, 1925

The United States Supreme Court voted seven to two on June 8, 1925 to uphold the conviction of socialist publisher Benjamin Gitlow, who had been tried and sentenced to prison under New York's 1902 Criminal Anarchy Law for distributing 16,0…

Secrets and espionage laws · Stage Punish · Head of government Alfred E. Smith · Upheld by a court

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