The record
Incidents: licensing and closure of outlets, 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
Ethiopia arrests at least six journalists including Sheger FM staff over election-year coverage
Ethiopian authorities arrested at least six journalists between August and September 2025, including three from Sheger FM after the Ethiopian Media Authority ordered the station to delete a broadcast it accused of bias and inciting violenc…
Detention and violence · Stage Punish · Head of government Abiy Ahmed · Ongoing
Egypt's Nasser government nationalizes every newspaper and magazine in the country
President Gamal Abdel Nasser's government issued a decree on May 24, 1960 placing every newspaper and magazine in Egypt under state ownership and management, with the government appointing editors and deciding content, ending private contr…
Funding and ownership pressure · Stage Silence · Head of government Gamal Abdel Nasser · Ongoing
Glavlit created: Soviet censorship office, 1922
In 1922, Soviet Russia created Glavlit, a single agency that reviewed newspapers, books, plays and even posters before they could be printed or performed. It was set up under Vladimir Lenin's government with final authority over what could…
Prior restraint · Stage Silence · Head of government Vladimir Lenin · Ongoing
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