Weinstein-BlackCube surveillance claim exposes aggressive tactics to kill a story
Those with deep pockets can go to great lengths to push back against journalism they find objectionable. Billionaire Peter Thiel deployed a team of lawyers in a move that bankrupted the news site Gawker in 2016–and last month President Donald Trump’s lawyers tried to block the publication of an unflattering book. But there’s another, much…
Venezuela’s anti-hate law provides Maduro with another tool to intimidate the press
In what journalists fear could be a taste of things to come, Venezuela’s new anti-hate law was enforced for the first time against a news organization on January 30, when Yndira Lugo, the editor of Diario Región, was called before government agents for questioning.
Colombia sentences gunman for 2015 murder of local radio journalist
New York, February 2, 2018–The sentencing of the gunman responsible for the 2015 murder of Colombian radio journalist Luis Antonio Peralta Cuéllar and his wife Sofía Quintero is a welcome step toward justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. A court in Florencia, the capital of the southwestern province of Caquetá, yesterday sentenced Yean…
Ahead of elections, Brazil’s police announce plan to crackdown on ‘fake news’
In November last year, Brazilian police stopped a truck on a highway in the center of the country and, after a thorough search, discovered more than six tons of marijuana stashed in false compartments. The truck had the name Romanelli on the side, but police said it was a label designed to confuse and that…
Mexico’s special prosecutor says FEADLE is improving, but impunity continues
For approximately two months, Mexico’s office of the Special Prosecutor for Attention for Crimes Against Freedom of Expression (FEADLE) led a nomadic existence after its building was damaged in a September 19 earthquake that killed almost 400 people in and around Mexico City. The agency now has a new home, but the natural disaster served…
How US vote to extend NSA program could expose journalists to surveillance
The U.S. Senate last week approved a six-year extension to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act (FISA), in a move that could put journalists at risk. Because people targeted by Section 702 are often of interest to the press as well as the NSA, journalists are more likely than most to have…
Local journalist killed in rural Brazil after receiving threats
Sao Paulo, January 19, 2018–Authorities in the Brazilian state of Goiás must undertake a thorough investigation into the murder of local radio show host Jefferson Pureza Lopes, and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
