In response to Trump’s fake news awards, CPJ announces Press Oppressors awards
Amid the public discourse of fake news and President Trump’s announcement via Twitter about his planned “fake news” awards ceremony, CPJ is recognizing world leaders who have gone out of their way to attack the press and undermine the norms that support freedom of the media. From an unparalleled fear of their critics and the…
US withdrawal from UNESCO is blow for press freedom
The U.S. government’s decision to withdraw from the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which has a mandate to promote “the free flow of ideas by word and image [and] to foster free, independent, and pluralistic media in print, broadcast and online,” will make the world less safe for journalists, a joint statement…
CPJ meeting with Gianforte is disappointingly brief
When Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte agreed to donate $50,000 to CPJ as part of his settlement with Guardian journalist Ben Jacobs, whom he body slammed during a congressional race in May, I reached out to set up a meeting to see if Gianforte was serious about his hope that “some good can come of [the]…
US Treasury Department decision risks future of two Panama newspapers
La Estrella de Panamá has kept Panama’s citizens informed since 1849. Now, as the country prepares for elections next year, the existence of the major newspaper, along with that of its sister title, El Siglo, may depend on the U.S. Treasury Department.
US Senate report on leaks and national security is deeply flawed
Last week, Republicans on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs released a report on leaks to the media. The report, which was led by Chairman Ron Johnson, asserts that “an avalanche” of leaks under the Trump Administration is harming national security. It lists at least 125 news articles and their bylines -…
CPJ to use $50,000 Gianforte donated as part of body slam settlement to track other assaults on press
When the news came that Greg Gianforte was making a $50,000 donation to the Committee to Protect Journalists it was 10 p.m. on the East Coast, but 8:30 a.m. in Naypyidaw, Myanmar’s Disney-like capital city, where members of our CPJ team were meeting officials to discuss that country’s punitive press laws.
How US Espionage Act can be used against journalists covering leaks
Earlier this week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly joked about Trump using a saber on the press and U.S. Senator Jim Risch told CNN the press should be questioning the Washington Post about its sources. Then, on May 16, The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump allegedly asked former FBI director…
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…