# Ladder: funding and ownership pressure, in Asia

A government uses money, or its power over owners, instead of acting against reporters directly. Examples are cutting the funds of public broadcasters, forcing the sale of an outlet, steering state advertising away from some publications, and using licence reviews or merger approvals to press an outlet's owners.

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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 20 September 1998 | [Malaysia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/my) ([RSF 2026 rank: 95th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Mahathir Mohamad](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/mahathir-mohamad) | After Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government arrested former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in September 1998, party-linked newspapers pressured staff to follow the official line, police visited journalists who interviewed his wife, and authorities said they would monitor internet traffi… [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1998-malaysia-anwar-arrest-press-restrictions) | Unknown | 2 |
| 28 May 2024 | [Georgia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/ge) ([RSF 2026 rank: 135th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Irakli Kobakhidze](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/irakli-kobakhidze) | 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… [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-georgia-foreign-influence-law) | Sustained | 1 |

## Silence

Removing outlets or channels from the public sphere: closures, licence withdrawals, forced sales, blocking and shutdowns, prior restraint, nationalisation.

| Date | Country | Head of government | What was done | Outcome | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 4 March 2016 | [Türkiye](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/tr) ([RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/recep-tayyip-erdogan) | An Istanbul court put Türkiye's best-selling newspaper, Zaman, and its parent company under trustees after ruling it supported a group the government called a terrorist organization. Note: A court replaced a newspaper's board and editors with trustees days after a hearing without the company's lawyers present; United States funding pressure has not removed an outlet's management by court order. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2016-turkiye-zaman-trustees-installed) | Sustained (4 March 2016) | 3 |
| 4 September 2017 | [Cambodia](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/kh) ([RSF 2026 rank: 151st of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Hun Sen](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/hun-sen) | Cambodia's tax authority presented the independent, English-language Cambodia Daily with a $6.3 million bill the paper called arbitrary and undocumented, forcing the 24-year-old newspaper to close rather than pay, amid a wider campaign against independent media before 2018 elections. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2017-cambodia-daily-closed-tax-bill) | Sustained (4 September 2017) | 2 |
| 21 March 2018 | [Türkiye](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/tr) ([RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index)) | [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/recep-tayyip-erdogan) | Türkiye's largest independent media group, including the newspaper Hurriyet and the broadcaster CNN Turk, was sold to the Demiroren conglomerate, a buyer with ties to the governing party, for a reported 1.1 billion dollars. Note: Türkiye's largest remaining independent newspaper and broadcast group was sold to a buyer with ties to the president, following two prior purchases that turned pro-government; United States pressure on owners has not produced a forced sale of this kind. [Full entry](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-turkiye-dogan-sells-to-demiroren) | Sustained (21 March 2018) | 2 |

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