US reporters wary of online, legal threats in the wake of the overturn of Roe v. Wade
In May, editors at the pro-abortion rights news website Rewire took the extraordinary step of removing reporters’ biographies from the web site. The move was a safety precaution: After the leak of a draft of a majority Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, reporters at Rewire grew concerned about…
CPJ joins letters urging U.S. government to hold NSO Group accountable on spyware
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined human rights and press freedom organizations in separate actions in August urging the United States government to hold NSO Group accountable for providing Pegasus spyware to governments that have used the tool to secretly surveil journalists around the world. In a joint letter to Acting Solicitor General Brian Fletcher…
CPJ welcomes sentencing over killing of journalists James Foley, Steven Sotloff
Washington, D.C., August 19, 2022 — The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomed Friday’s sentencing of Islamic State member El Shafee Elsheikh as an important milestone in the justice process. Elsheikh was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the kidnapping and subsequent beheading of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, the killing of aid…
CPJ calls on US officials to act after Blinken meeting with Shireen Abu Akleh’s family
New York, July 26, 2022 – U.S. authorities must follow their meeting with family members of slain Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh with substantive action to investigate her death and bring those responsible to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday. On Tuesday, July 26, Abu Akleh’s relatives met with U.S. Secretary of…
British Home Secretary approves Assange extradition to the United States
New York, June 17, 2022–In response to British Home Secretary Priti Patel’s decision on Friday to approve a U.S. request to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to the United States, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “The extradition of Julian Assange to the United States to face trial on charges under the…
Seeking ‘answers and accountability’: Reporters cover Uvalde shooting amid police obstruction
False narratives, threats of arrest, and a biker group blocking access. These are just a few of the challenges journalists have faced while covering the aftermath of the May 24 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Threats to press freedom are hardly the main story in Uvalde, where police failed to stop the…
CPJ joins call for US Congress to reauthorize Global Magnitsky Act
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 57 other civil society groups in a letter on Wednesday, March 23, calling for the U.S. Congress to reauthorize and strengthen the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The 2016 law allows the U.S. to place targeted economic and visa sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for serious human…
CPJ calls on US Justice Department to stop compelling media outlets to register as foreign agents
On February 11, 2022, the Committee to Protect Journalists submitted comments to the United States Department of Justice concerning problems presented by labeling media organizations as “foreign agents” under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The comments were submitted to the Justice Department in response to a public request from the department for feedback on proposed…
CPJ condemns cyberattack on News Corp media publications
Washington, D.C., February 7, 2022—The Committee to Protect Journalists on Monday expressed grave concern about the cyberattack on News Corp that gave hackers access to journalists’ emails and other documents, and urged Chinese authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into who was behind the attack. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the attack…