Despite convictions, justice for murdered journalists in Mexico remains abstract
Some recent convictions in the cases of journalists murdered in Mexico may give the impression that the state is making significant progress in the fight against impunity. While CPJ has welcomed the convictions as an important step, the outlook for breaking the cycle of impunity and violence in Mexico has grown more dim under President…
Philippines makes premature claim to end of impunity in journalist murders
When the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural classified the 2009 Maguindanao massacre — the deadliest attack on the press ever recorded by CPJ — as “resolved,” Philippine authorities were quick to echo and tout this designation. Too quick, as it turned out. UNESCO’s then-assistant director-general for communication and information, Moez Chackchouk, made the official…
CPJ, RCFP and other organizations urge DHS to drop proposed visa changes for foreign journalists in U.S.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) and 36 other media organizations yesterday submitted joint comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) urging the department to drop or revise proposed changes to I visas, which are granted to members of the foreign media working in the United States….
Conspiracy theories grow in the U.S., creating threats to journalist safety
On the eve of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, conspiracy theories have abounded online amid the global pandemic and a polarized political climate. Journalists covering nearly every beat grapple with misinformation, which is false but may be spread by mistake, as well as disinformation, when falsehoods are shared intentionally. QAnon has emerged as one…
Al-Manassa editor Nora Younis on censorship in Egypt
This summer, Egyptian authorities raided Al-Manassa for the first time since the independent news website was established in 2016. News reports describe at least six police officers storming the outlet’s only office in Cairo, confiscating a laptop, and arresting Nora Younis, the editor-in-chief. The following day, the public prosecutor’s office charged her with multiple unfoundedcybercrime…
CPJ joins call for release of 4 Iwacu journalists one year after arrest in Burundi
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 64 other press freedom and human rights organizations today in a statement calling for the immediate and unconditional release of four journalists with the independent Burundian outlet Iwacu, who were arrested one year ago. The statement called the journalists’ detention a “stark reminder” of Burundi’s “little tolerance for independent…
Q&A: Financial Times reporters Dan McCrum and Stefania Palma on Wirecard and pressures on business journalists
Dan McCrum and Stefania Palma, business reporters for the Financial Times, spent years investigating German payments company Wirecard and revealed in a series of articles that the darling of the stock markets and the German tech scene faked its accounts. When it filed for insolvency in June 2020, Wirecard owed creditors billions of dollars, and…
Ahead of elections, Tanzania’s regulator is used as a cudgel against the media
On August 27, the second day of mainland Tanzania’s official campaign period leading up to October 28 elections, authorities ordered privately owned broadcasters Clouds TV and Clouds FM to replace their regular programming with an hours-long apology until midnight and then halt programming altogether for a week. The over-the-top display of repentance was dictated by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), on the…
CPJ joins statement demanding justice for Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 18 other international press freedom and human rights organizations in a statement calling on Maltese authorities to conduct a thorough and effective criminal investigation into the killing of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and to ensure those responsible are held to account. The statement expressed concern that, on the…
Foreign reporters describe safety concerns covering US elections and protests
Covering elections as a foreign correspondent in the United States has traditionally meant press conferences, long days at political rallies, and road trips through rural America. This year, however, amid the spread of COVID-19, curtailed campaigns, civil unrest, visa issues, and an unpredictable political environment, the elections beat has been particularly challenging for foreign reporters….