The War On News

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

Search, 1900 to 1949, outcome reversed

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
CountryAustralia, RSF 2026 rank: 33rd of 180Brazil, RSF 2026 rank: 52nd of 180Germany, RSF 2026 rank: 14th of 180Portugal, RSF 2026 rank: 10th of 180Spain, RSF 2026 rank: 29th of 180United States, RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180
ContinentEuropeNorth AmericaSouth AmericaOceania
TacticPrior restraint 6Licensing and closure of outlets 2Credential control 2Insult and defamation laws 2Shutdowns and blocking 1Secrets and espionage laws 1Funding and ownership pressure 1Lawsuits against the press 1
StagePressure 2Punish 1Silence 7
OutcomeReversed 10
LevelNational 7State or province 2Municipal 1
Head of governmentAdolf HitlerAntónio de Oliveira SalazarEurith D. RiversFrancisco FrancoFranklin D. RooseveltGetúlio VargasJohn CurtinOscar K. AllenTheodore ChristiansonTheodore Roosevelt

10 incidents match this view.

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DateIncidentCountryTacticHead of governmentOutcome
16 April 1944Australia's wartime government seizes a Sydney newspaper edition under press controls rulesAustralia (RSF 2026 rank: 33rd of 180)Prior restraintJohn CurtinReversed (18 April 1944)
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)
1939Brazil's Vargas government creates a state messaging department with broad press powersBrazil (RSF 2026 rank: 52nd of 180)Licensing and closure of outletsGetúlio VargasReversed (1 January 1945)
April 1938Franco's Spain requires state permission to be a journalist under a wartime Press LawSpain (RSF 2026 rank: 29th of 180)Credential controlFrancisco FrancoReversed (1 April 1977)
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)
4 October 1933Nazi Germany's Editors Law bars Jewish journalists, 1933Germany (RSF 2026 rank: 14th of 180)Credential controlAdolf HitlerReversed (8 May 1945)
1933Portugal's Salazar government formally establishes press controls under a new constitutionPortugal (RSF 2026 rank: 10th of 180)Prior restraintAntónio de Oliveira SalazarReversed (25 April 1974)
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)
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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