{ "title": "Ladder: official labels, in Asia", "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/disinformation_labeling?continent=asia", "filters": { "continent": "asia" }, "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.", "tactic": { "slug": "disinformation_labeling", "name": "Official labels", "definition": "A government officially brands a news outlet or a journalist as a source of disinformation or \"fake news\", or requires it to register as an agent of another country. Such labels often carry reporting duties and restrictions, and can cost the outlet its audience and advertisers.", "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/disinformation_labeling" }, "focal_case": "US", "count": 4, "stages": [ { "stage": "pressure", "name": "Pressure", "definition": "Using state power short of prosecution to change coverage: regulatory threats, licence reviews, funding cuts, lawsuits by officials, official \"fake news\" or \"foreign agent\" labels, advertising pressure, tax audits.", "rungs": [ { "slug": "2013-vietnam-decree-72-restricts-blogs", "title": "Vietnam: Decree 72 restricts blogs to personal information", "occurred_on": "2013-09-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "stage": "pressure", "focal_case": false, "country": "VN", "country_name": "Viet Nam", "continent": "asia", "rsf": null, "leader_slug": "nguyen-tan-dung", "leader_name": "Nguyen Tan Dung", "what_was_done": "Vietnam's Decree 72 took effect in September 2013, barring bloggers and social media users from linking to or reposting news from press organizations or foreign government websites, restricting them to sharing personal information only.", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": "2013-09-01", "outcome_note": "The decree remained in force and was not reported as reversed in the source reviewed.", "ladder_note": "Vietnam's decree barred bloggers from sharing news articles at all, restricting them to personal content on pain of prosecution; no United States rule confines an outlet or blogger to personal content.", "sources_count": 3, "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2013-vietnam-decree-72-restricts-blogs" }, { "slug": "2024-india-court-strikes-down-fact-check-unit", "title": "Bombay High Court strikes down India's government 'fact check unit' rule", "occurred_on": "2024-03-01", "occurred_on_precision": "month", "stage": "pressure", "focal_case": false, "country": "IN", "country_name": "India", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 157, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "narendra-modi", "leader_name": "Narendra Modi", "what_was_done": "India's 2023 amendment to its Information Technology Rules empowered a government-run Fact Check Unit to label online content about the central government 'fake' or 'false' and require its removal; comedian Kunal Kamra and media groups challenged it, and the Bombay High Court struck the rule down a…", "outcome": "reversed", "outcome_on": "2024-09-20", "outcome_note": "The Bombay High Court struck down the rule, finding its key terms 'vague and overbroad,' after the Supreme Court had already stayed its operation.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 2, "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling", "prior_restraint" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-india-court-strikes-down-fact-check-unit" }, { "slug": "2024-georgia-foreign-influence-law", "title": "Georgia 'foreign influence' law for media, 2024", "occurred_on": "2024-05-28", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "pressure", "focal_case": false, "country": "GE", "country_name": "Georgia", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 135, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 135th of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "irakli-kobakhidze", "leader_name": "Irakli Kobakhidze", "what_was_done": "Georgia's parliament passed a law requiring media and civil-society groups that receive 20 percent or more of their funding from abroad to register as organizations \"serving the interests of a foreign power,\" over mass street protests and international criticism that the label would be used to marg…", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The law took effect despite mass protests and international criticism; the governing party did not withdraw it.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 1, "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling", "funding_and_ownership_pressure" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-georgia-foreign-influence-law" } ] }, { "stage": "punish", "name": "Punish", "definition": "Legal or physical action against individual journalists or sources: subpoenas and record seizures, prosecutions, arrests, detention, expulsions, visa denials, assault where a government actor is involved.", "rungs": [ { "slug": "2025-pakistan-amends-peca-cybercrime-law", "title": "Pakistan amends cybercrime law to create new agency policing 'fake' online content", "occurred_on": "2025-01-29", "occurred_on_precision": "day", "stage": "punish", "focal_case": false, "country": "PK", "country_name": "Pakistan", "continent": "asia", "rsf": { "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index", "year": 2026, "rank": 153, "of": 180, "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 153rd of 180", "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index" }, "leader_slug": "shehbaz-sharif", "leader_name": "Shehbaz Sharif", "what_was_done": "Pakistan's parliament amended the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act to create a new Social Media Protection and Regulatory Authority with power to block online content and a Social Media Protection Tribunal, and made spreading information deemed 'fake or false' punishable by up to three years in…", "outcome": "sustained", "outcome_on": null, "outcome_note": "The amendment remained law despite nationwide journalist protests and a Human Rights Watch call for its repeal.", "ladder_note": null, "sources_count": 2, "tactic_primary": "disinformation_labeling", "tactics": [ "disinformation_labeling", "outlet_licensing" ], "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-pakistan-amends-peca-cybercrime-law" } ] } ], "downloads": { "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/disinformation_labeling?continent=asia&format=csv", "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/disinformation_labeling.json?continent=asia", "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/disinformation_labeling.md?continent=asia" }, "license": { "name": "CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" } }