Disrupting the Debate
Governments use copyright laws and Twitter bots to curb criticism on social media By Alexandra Ellerbeck On July 10, 2016, Ecuadoran journalist Bernardo Abad tweeted that the former vice-president of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, had not paid income taxes for the year before. A week later, Abad received a message from Twitter saying his account had…
Case in Point
A journalist details one fight over records requests in the United States By Michael Pell In December 2010, Robin Gordon faced an ultimatum. She had found that a debt collection company had purchased a $291 tax lien on an apartment she owned in Atlanta, Georgia, after her mortgage company failed to pay a small portion…
Thwarting Freedom of Information
Agencies exploit every loophole to evade disclosure requirements By Jason Leopold On December 13, 2016, I filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the FBI seeking a wide range of documents about a series of highly controversial decisions the bureau made in the weeks leading up to the U.S. presidential election that Democratic lawmakers…
Ecuador fines seven news outlets for not reproducing Argentine newspaper story
Bogotá, Colombia, April 24, 2017–Ecuadoran authorities should immediately annul fines imposed on seven media outlets for declining to reproduce a story published in an Argentine newspaper, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Two photographers arrested for photographing Brazil protest
Police on April 17, 2017, arrested two Brazilian photographers who were taking photographs of a barricade of burning tires in the Jardins neighborhood of São Paulo and accused them of starting the fire, according to one of the photographers and the police report, which CPJ has reviewed.
CPJ joins Fly Don’t Spy campaign to protect journalists and their sources
Over the past several months, the Committee to Protect Journalists has raised concerns over U.S. border agents’ use of secondary searches of journalists and their devices at U.S. borders, and government proposals to require travelers to hand over social media account passwords as a condition of entry to the U.S. That is why today CPJ…
Journalist facing charges in Ecuador files for asylum in Peru
New York, April 18, 2017–Ecuadoran journalist Fernando Villavicencio, director of the news website Focus Ecuador and a critic of outgoing President Rafael Correa, today filed a petition for political asylum in Lima, Peru. A statement from the regional press group Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS) said the journalist, who fled to Lima after presidential elections…
Mexican crime reporter murdered
Mexico City, April 17, 2017–Mexican authorities should swiftly and credibly investigate the murder of crime reporter Maximino Rodríguez, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Unknown assailants shot and killed Rodríguez on April 14 in the northern Mexican city of La Paz, according to his employer.
CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering 2017 Protests in Venezuela
Venezuelan opposition supporters have been protesting against the government of President Nicolás Maduro since the Supreme Court ruled to strip the National Assembly of its lawmaking powers at the end of March. This is the longest sustained wave of anti-government demonstrations since 2014.