The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, 1900 to today

Search in Asia

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
CountryAzerbaijanBangladesh, RSF 2026 rank: 152nd of 180Cambodia, RSF 2026 rank: 151st of 180China, RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180Georgia, RSF 2026 rank: 135th of 180Hong Kong, RSF 2026 rank: 140th of 180India, RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180Iran, RSF 2026 rank: 177th of 180Israel, RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180KazakhstanMalaysia, RSF 2026 rank: 95th of 180Myanmar, RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180North KoreaPakistan, RSF 2026 rank: 153rd of 180Philippines, RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180Saudi Arabia, RSF 2026 rank: 176th of 180South Korea, RSF 2026 rank: 47th of 180ThailandTürkiye, RSF 2026 rank: 163rd of 180Viet Nam
ContinentAsia
TacticDetention and violence 14Licensing and closure of outlets 9Prior restraint 8Expulsion and visa denial 7Secrets and espionage laws 6Shutdowns and blocking 6Insult and defamation laws 5Funding and ownership pressure 5Access bans 4Surveillance and subpoenas 4Official labels 4Credential control 4Lawsuits against the press 3
StageRestrict 1Pressure 9Punish 19Silence 17Eliminate 10
OutcomeSustained 20Ongoing 14Unknown 10Reversed 10Upheld by a court 2
LevelNational 55State or province 1
Head of governmentAung San Suu KyiBenjamin NetanyahuCarrie LamChun Doo-hwanDavid Ben-GurionEbrahim RaisiFerdinand MarcosHassan RouhaniHun SenIlham AliyevIndira GandhiIrakli KobakhidzeJohn LeeKassym-Jomart TokayevKim Jong IlLi PengMahathir MohamadMahmoud AhmadinejadMin Aung HlaingMuhammad YunusNarendra ModiNguyen Tan DungNguyen Xuan PhucRecep Tayyip ErdoğanRodrigo DuterteSalman bin Abdulaziz Al SaudSaw MaungShehbaz SharifXi JinpingYingluck Shinawatra

56 incidents match this view. Showing 6 on page 2 of 2.

TableCardsCSVJSONMarkdown
DateIncidentCountryTacticHead of governmentOutcome
14 June 1989China expels foreign journalists and restricts coverage of the Tiananmen Square protestsChina (RSF 2026 rank: 178th of 180)Expulsion and visa denialLi PengSustained (1 January 1990)
18 September 1988Burma's new military government tightens pre-publication press controls after seizing powerMyanmar (RSF 2026 rank: 166th of 180)Prior restraintSaw MaungOngoing (1 January 1989)
31 July 1980South Korea's martial-law government purges journalists who resisted press controlsSouth Korea (RSF 2026 rank: 47th of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsChun Doo-hwanReversed (1 June 1987)
26 June 1975India imposes pre-press controls on every newspaper during the 1975 EmergencyIndia (RSF 2026 rank: 157th of 180)Prior restraintIndira GandhiReversed (21 March 1977)
21 September 1972Philippines President Marcos closes every major news outlet under martial lawPhilippines (RSF 2026 rank: 114th of 180)Shutdowns and blockingFerdinand MarcosReversed (25 February 1986)
1948Israel retains a British-era law giving the military the power to review and restrict the pressIsrael (RSF 2026 rank: 116th of 180)Prior restraintDavid Ben-GurionOngoing (1 January 1989)
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