The War On News

How governments have limited journalists, 1900 to today.

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Incidents: insult and defamation laws

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.

10 incidents match this view.

Country: India (1) Tunisia (1) Hong Kong (1) Türkiye (1) Zimbabwe (1) Russia (1) Hungary (1) Ecuador (1) Serbia (1) Spain (1)

Continent: Europe (4) Asia (3) Africa (2) South America (1)

Tactic: Insult and defamation laws (10) Detention and violence (3) Funding and ownership pressure (2) Secrets and espionage laws (1) Shutdowns and blocking (1) Credential control (1) Prior restraint (1)

Outcome: Sustained (3) Reversed (3) Unknown (2) Upheld by a court (1) Ongoing (1)

Level: National (10)

Head of government: Narendra Modi (1) Kais Saied (1) John Lee (1) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (1) Emmerson Mnangagwa (1) Vladimir Putin (1) Viktor Orban (1) Rafael Correa (1) Slobodan Milosevic (1) Francisco Franco (1)

DateIncidentCountryTacticHead of governmentOutcome
February 10, 2026India: one-year prison sentence for the journalist Ravi Nair in a criminal defamation case, February 2026IndiaInsult and defamation lawsNarendra ModiUnknown (February 10, 2026)
January 16, 2025Tunisia's cybercrime decree pushes jailed-journalist count to highest since 1992TunisiaInsult and defamation lawsKais SaiedSustained
August 29, 2024Hong Kong court convicts Stand News editors of seditionHong KongInsult and defamation lawsJohn LeeUpheld by a court (September 26, 2024)
November 1, 2023Turkish authorities detain three journalists under 'disinformation' lawTürkiyeInsult and defamation lawsRecep Tayyip ErdoğanOngoing
July 14, 2023Zimbabwe's Patriotic Act criminalizes journalists' contact with foreign governmentsZimbabweSecrets and espionage lawsEmmerson MnangagwaSustained (July 14, 2023)
March 4, 2022Russia criminalizes 'fake' reporting on the military, up to 15 years in prisonRussiaInsult and defamation lawsVladimir PutinSustained
March 30, 2020Hungary criminalizes false coronavirus information and grants Orban decree powersHungaryInsult and defamation lawsViktor OrbanUnknown
June 25, 2013Ecuador's Organic Communication Law creates a regulator that issues hundreds of sanctions against journalists and outletsEcuadorFunding and ownership pressureRafael CorreaReversed (July 24, 2018)
October 20, 1998Serbia's Public Information Act lets courts fine independent newspapers into financial dangerSerbiaInsult and defamation lawsSlobodan MilosevicReversed (January 1, 2001)
April 1938Franco's Spain requires state permission to be a journalist under a wartime Press LawSpainCredential controlFrancisco FrancoReversed (April 1, 1977)
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