The War On News

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

The record

Incidents, stage: silence, 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.

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
CountryEgypt, RSF 2026 rank: 169th of 180Ethiopia, RSF 2026 rank: 148th of 180India, RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180Israel, RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180Myanmar, RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180Russia, RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180United States, RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180
ContinentAfricaAsiaEuropeNorth America
TacticShutdowns and blocking 3Prior restraint 3Funding and ownership pressure 2Licensing and closure of outlets 2Detention and violence 1
StageSilence 8
OutcomeOngoing 8
LevelNational 7State or province 1
Head of governmentAbiy AhmedDavid Ben-GurionDonald TrumpGamal Abdel NasserMin Aung HlaingNarendra ModiSaw MaungVladimir Lenin

8 incidents match this view.

TableCardsCSVJSONMarkdown
DateIncidentCountryTacticHead of governmentOutcome
15 March 2025United States: U.S. Agency for Global Media action to shut down Voice of America operations, March 2025United States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Funding and ownership pressureDonald TrumpOngoing (28 March 2025)
February 2021Myanmar: military cuts mobile internet after seizing powerMyanmar (RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180)Shutdowns and blockingMin Aung HlaingOngoing (3 May 2021)
November 2020Ethiopia: internet and phone service cut across TigrayEthiopia (RSF 2026 rank: 148th of 180)Shutdowns and blockingAbiy AhmedOngoing (3 May 2021)
5 August 2019India imposes a communications blackout in Jammu and Kashmir after revoking the region's special statusIndia (RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180)Shutdowns and blockingNarendra ModiOngoing (5 August 2020)
18 September 1988Burma's new military government tightens pre-publication press controls after seizing powerMyanmar (RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180)Prior restraintSaw MaungOngoing (1 January 1989)
24 May 1960Egypt's Nasser government nationalizes every newspaper and magazine in the countryEgypt (RSF 2026 rank: 169th of 180)Funding and ownership pressureGamal Abdel NasserOngoing (1 January 1989)
1948Israel retains a British-era law giving the military the power to review and restrict the pressIsrael (RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180)Prior restraintDavid Ben-GurionOngoing (1 January 1989)
1922Soviet Russia creates Glavlit, a central office to review all printed material before publicationRussia (RSF 2026 rank: 172nd of 180)Prior restraintVladimir LeninOngoing (1 January 1989)
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