# Ladder: official labels, in North America

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.

The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.

Narrow with ?stage= (restrict, pressure, punish, silence, eliminate), ?continent=, ?from= and ?to= (year or date).

## Pressure

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.

| Date | Country | Head of government | What was done | Outcome | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 22 January 2025 | Focal case: [United States](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/us) ([RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Donald Trump](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/donald-trump) | Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr reopened complaints alleging CBS and NBC distorted the news, demanding CBS turn over the full tape and transcript of a 60 Minutes interview and later accusing NBC's parent Comcast of misleading coverage of an immigration case. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-fcc-carr-news-distortion-complaints-nbc-cbs) | Ongoing | 1 |
| 28 September 1959 | [Cuba](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/cu) (RSF rank: not recorded) | [Fidel Castro](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/fidel-castro) | In a September 28, 1959 television appearance, Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro criticized Havana newspapers, including Diario de la Marina, that had questioned his government's actions, along with the Inter American Press Association's decision to examine press freedom in Cuba. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1959-cuba-castro-criticizes-diario-de-la-marina) | Sustained (11 May 1960) | 2 |

## Eliminate

Long imprisonment, killing, disappearance or forced exile of journalists, with state involvement as the sources state it.

| Date | Country | Head of government | What was done | Outcome | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 15 February 2023 | [Nicaragua](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/ni) ([RSF 2026 rank: 168th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Daniel Ortega](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/daniel-ortega) | A Nicaraguan appeals court stripped 94 government opponents, including exiled journalists Carlos Fernando Chamorro and Alvaro Navarro, of their citizenship, days after President Daniel Ortega released 222 political prisoners to the United States and immediately declared them stateless too. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-nicaragua-strips-journalists-citizenship) | Sustained | 2 |

Download this ladder. CSV, JSON or Markdown. CC BY 4.0; credit "The War On News, thewaronnews.com".
- CSV: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/disinformation_labeling?continent=north-america&format=csv
- JSON: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/disinformation_labeling.json?continent=north-america
- Markdown: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/disinformation_labeling.md?continent=north-america

All ladders: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders. United States chapter: https://thewaronnews.com/united-states

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/disinformation_labeling?continent=north-america. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.