The War On News

How governments have limited journalists, 1900 to today.

Search in the United States

56 incidents match this view. Showing 50 on page 1 of 2.

Country: United States (56)

Continent: North America (56)

Tactic: Access bans (19) Surveillance and subpoenas (14) Secrets and espionage laws (11) Funding and ownership pressure (9) Detention and violence (8) Credential control (6) Prior restraint (6) Lawsuits against the press (5) Shutdowns and blocking (2) Licensing and closure of outlets (1) Official labels (1)

Outcome: Reversed (16) Sustained (16) Ongoing (12) Unknown (7) Upheld by a court (5)

Level: National (47) State or province (6) Municipal (3)

Head of government: Donald Trump (27) Barack Obama (6) Richard Nixon (4) Jeff Landry (2) Joe Biden (2) George W. Bush (2) Woodrow Wilson (2) Karen Bass (1) Ron DeSantis (1) Laura Kelly (1) Doug Ducey (1) Jacob Frey (1) Tim Walz (1) George H. W. Bush (1) Ronald Reagan (1) Dwight D. Eisenhower (1) Franklin D. Roosevelt (1) Theodore Christianson (1)

DateIncidentCountryTacticHead of governmentOutcome
September 18, 2026United States: White House hard-pass deactivations for CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters, September 2026United StatesAccess bansDonald TrumpOngoing (September 21, 2026)
July 10, 2026Customs officers seize Grayzone editor's phones at Virginia airport over Iran reportingUnited StatesSurveillance and subpoenasDonald TrumpReversed (July 17, 2026)
April 28, 2026Appeals court orders FCC to respond to challenge over 'news distortion' policyUnited StatesFunding and ownership pressureDonald TrumpOngoing (April 28, 2026)
October 31, 2025White House closes 'Upper Press' section of West Wing to reportersUnited StatesAccess bansDonald TrumpSustained
October 15, 2025United States: News organizations turn in their Pentagon press credentials, October 2025United StatesCredential controlDonald TrumpOngoing (April 9, 2026)
September 19, 2025United States: Department of Defense press credential rules requiring approval before release of information, September 2025United StatesCredential controlDonald TrumpOngoing (April 9, 2026)
September 17, 2025United States: Federal Communications Commission chairman's remarks and the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, September 2025United StatesFunding and ownership pressureDonald TrumpReversed (September 23, 2025)
September 16, 2025Trump files, then refiles, $15 billion defamation suit against the New York TimesUnited StatesLawsuits against the pressDonald TrumpOngoing (October 16, 2025)
July 24, 2025FCC approves Paramount-Skydance merger after CBS ombudsman and anti-DEI pledgesUnited StatesFunding and ownership pressureDonald TrumpSustained (July 24, 2025)
July 18, 2025Trump sues Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch over Epstein birthday letter storyUnited StatesLawsuits against the pressDonald TrumpOngoing
July 18, 2025Congress cuts $1.1 billion in federal funding for public broadcastingUnited StatesFunding and ownership pressureDonald TrumpSustained (July 18, 2025)
July 1, 2025United States: Paramount settlement of Donald Trump's lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview, July 2025United StatesLawsuits against the pressDonald TrumpSustained (July 1, 2025)
June 9, 2025Officer shoots Australian journalist with rubber bullet during Los Angeles immigration protestsUnited StatesDetention and violenceKaren BassUnknown
May 1, 2025United States: Executive Order 14290 directing an end to federal funding for NPR and PBS, May 2025United StatesFunding and ownership pressureDonald TrumpUnknown
April 25, 2025United States: Department of Justice rescission of rules limiting subpoenas of journalists, April 2025United StatesSurveillance and subpoenasDonald TrumpSustained (April 25, 2025)
April 22, 202560 Minutes executive producer resigns, citing lost editorial independenceUnited StatesFunding and ownership pressureDonald TrumpSustained (April 22, 2025)
April 15, 2025White House ends wire services' guaranteed seat in the press poolUnited StatesAccess bansDonald TrumpSustained
March 15, 2025United States: U.S. Agency for Global Media action to shut down Voice of America operations, March 2025United StatesFunding and ownership pressureDonald TrumpOngoing (March 28, 2025)
February 25, 2025United States: White House takes over selection of the presidential press pool, February 2025United StatesAccess bansDonald TrumpSustained (September 22, 2026)
February 11, 2025United States: White House exclusion of the Associated Press from the Oval Office and Air Force One, February 2025United StatesAccess bansDonald TrumpOngoing (July 22, 2025)
February 6, 2025Border czar Tom Homan says ICE media ride-alongs may end over leaksUnited StatesAccess bansDonald TrumpUnknown
January 31, 2025United States (Louisiana): Federal court order blocking enforcement of the police buffer zone law, January 2025United StatesAccess bansJeff LandryOngoing (January 31, 2025)
January 29, 2025FCC chair reopens 'news distortion' complaints against CBS and NBCUnited StatesFunding and ownership pressureDonald TrumpOngoing
January 1, 2025United States (Florida): Halo Law buffer zone around first responders, January 2025United StatesAccess bansRon DeSantisSustained (January 1, 2025)
December 16, 2024Trump sues Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer over final Iowa pollUnited StatesLawsuits against the pressDonald TrumpOngoing (July 10, 2026)
May 24, 2024United States (Louisiana): 25-foot buffer zone law around police officers, May 2024United StatesAccess bansJeff LandryOngoing (January 31, 2025)
August 11, 2023Police raid Marion County Record newsroom and publisher's home in KansasUnited StatesSurveillance and subpoenasLaura KellyReversed (August 5, 2024)
July 21, 2023Federal court strikes down Arizona's law banning recording police within 8 feetUnited StatesAccess bansDoug DuceyReversed (July 21, 2023)
November 6, 2021FBI raids Project Veritas founder's home over Ashley Biden diary investigationUnited StatesSurveillance and subpoenasJoe BidenUnknown
July 19, 2021Justice Department bars seizing reporters' phone and email recordsUnited StatesSurveillance and subpoenasJoe BidenReversed (April 25, 2025)
September 12, 2020Political appointees alter CDC coronavirus guidance before public releaseUnited StatesPrior restraintDonald TrumpUnknown
July 16, 2020Federal officers restrict press access to Portland protests; judge orders them to stopUnited StatesAccess bansDonald TrumpReversed (July 16, 2020)
May 29, 2020Minneapolis police projectile permanently blinds photojournalist Linda TiradoUnited StatesDetention and violenceJacob FreySustained (May 26, 2022)
May 29, 2020Minnesota State Patrol arrests CNN crew live on air in MinneapolisUnited StatesDetention and violenceTim WalzReversed (May 29, 2020)
May 23, 2019United States indicts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under the Espionage ActUnited StatesSecrets and espionage lawsDonald TrumpReversed (June 25, 2024)
November 7, 2018White House revokes CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's press credential after a news conference exchange with President TrumpUnited StatesCredential controlDonald TrumpReversed (November 19, 2018)
November 7, 2018United States: White House suspension of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's hard pass, November 2018United StatesCredential controlDonald TrumpReversed (November 19, 2018)
October 17, 2014United States pursues New York Times reporter James Risen's testimony for years before dropping its demand for his sourceUnited StatesSurveillance and subpoenasBarack ObamaReversed (October 17, 2014)
October 10, 2013United States: Espionage Act prosecutions of sources for leaks to the press, 2009 to 2013United StatesSecrets and espionage lawsBarack ObamaUnknown
May 20, 2013United States search warrant names Fox News reporter James Rosen a possible co-conspirator in a leak caseUnited StatesSurveillance and subpoenasBarack ObamaSustained (July 12, 2013)
May 13, 2013United States Justice Department secretly seizes two months of Associated Press phone recordsUnited StatesSurveillance and subpoenasBarack ObamaSustained (July 12, 2013)
January 25, 2013United States prosecutes former CIA officer John Kiriakou under the Espionage Act for identifying a covert colleague to a journalistUnited StatesSecrets and espionage lawsBarack ObamaUpheld by a court (February 3, 2015)
July 5, 2010United States charges Army analyst Chelsea Manning under the Espionage Act for leaking to WikiLeaksUnited StatesSecrets and espionage lawsBarack ObamaReversed (January 17, 2017)
July 6, 2005New York Times reporter Judith Miller jailed for refusing to name a confidential source in the Valerie Plame affairUnited StatesSurveillance and subpoenasGeorge W. BushUpheld by a court (September 29, 2005)
February 10, 2003Pentagon sets ground rules for journalists embedded with United States forces in IraqUnited StatesAccess bansGeorge W. BushSustained (April 14, 2003)
January 17, 1991United States military restricts reporters to escorted press pools during the Gulf WarUnited StatesAccess bansGeorge H. W. BushSustained (February 28, 1991)
October 25, 1983United States military bars journalists from the invasion of GrenadaUnited StatesAccess bansRonald ReaganReversed (April 1, 1985)
September 9, 1971United States: Nixon White House "enemies list" naming journalists, September 1971United StatesSurveillance and subpoenasRichard NixonUnknown
August 16, 1971Nixon White House compiles an enemies list naming journalists for official pressureUnited StatesSurveillance and subpoenasRichard NixonReversed (June 27, 1973)
June 15, 1971United States government seeks an injunction to stop The New York Times publishing the Pentagon PapersUnited StatesPrior restraintRichard NixonReversed (June 30, 1971)
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