The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Search in the United States, 1900 to 1949

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
CountryUnited States, RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180
ContinentNorth America
TacticSecrets and espionage laws 6Prior restraint 3Detention and violence 3Shutdowns and blocking 3Funding and ownership pressure 1Expulsion and visa denial 1Insult and defamation laws 1Lawsuits against the press 1
StagePressure 3Punish 4Silence 4
OutcomeReversed 5Upheld by a court 5Sustained 1
LevelNational 7State or province 3Municipal 1
Head of governmentAlfred E. SmithEurith D. RiversFranklin D. RooseveltOscar K. AllenTheodore ChristiansonTheodore RooseveltWoodrow Wilson

11 incidents match this view.

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DateIncidentCountryTacticHead of governmentOutcome
August 1942United States: Justice Department investigates the Chicago Tribune under the Espionage Act over Battle of Midway coverageUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Secrets and espionage lawsFranklin D. RooseveltReversed (1 August 1942)
19 December 1941United States creates an Office of Censorship and a wartime code for the pressUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Prior restraintFranklin D. RooseveltSustained (28 September 1945)
28 March 1938United States: Supreme Court strikes down a Georgia city's permit requirement for distributing literature, 1938United States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Prior restraintEurith D. RiversReversed (28 March 1938)
12 July 1934United States: Louisiana taxes large newspapers' advertising revenue; the tax is struck down in Grosjean v. American Press Co.United States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Funding and ownership pressureOscar K. AllenReversed (10 February 1936)
1927Minnesota closes The Saturday Press in 1927; the Supreme Court strikes down the law in 1931United States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Prior restraintTheodore ChristiansonReversed (1 June 1931)
8 June 1925United States: Supreme Court upholds Benjamin Gitlow's conviction under New York's Criminal Anarchy Law, 1925United States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Secrets and espionage lawsAlfred E. SmithUpheld by a court (8 June 1925)
26 June 1918United States convicts newspaper editor Jacob Frohwerk under the Espionage Act, June 1918United States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Secrets and espionage lawsWoodrow WilsonUpheld by a court (10 March 1919)
July 1917United States postmaster bars the magazine The Masses from the mail under the Espionage ActUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Secrets and espionage lawsWoodrow WilsonUpheld by a court (1 November 1917)
1917United States convicts Mother Earth editor Emma Goldman of draft conspiracy and bars her magazine from the mailUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Detention and violenceWoodrow WilsonUpheld by a court (14 January 1918)
1917United States Postmaster General Burleson strips the Milwaukee Leader of its mailing rateUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Shutdowns and blockingWoodrow WilsonUpheld by a court (7 March 1921)
4 March 1909United States: President Theodore Roosevelt seeks criminal libel indictments against the New York World and the Indianapolis News over Panama Canal reportingUnited States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)Insult and defamation lawsTheodore RooseveltReversed (3 January 1911)
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