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The World Health Organization has called the novel coronavirus an “infodemic” and the topic of disinformation and “fake news” has remained at the forefront of this century’s worst pandemic, with social media and tech platforms playing a central role. COVID-19 has forced many companies to move to remote work, and tech platforms and social media…

Also available in हिंदी में On March 26, two days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a national lockdown to control the spreading of COVID-19, Hindi-language daily Jansandesh Times reported that a tribe in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh state, didn’t have enough to eat due to the sudden announcement and that children were eating grass.…

Johannesburg-based freelance journalist Yeshiel Panchia was on his way to cover a story about a local developer who had found a way to keep his wage laborers employed during South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown by letting them live on the construction site so that they didn’t have to leave “home” in contravention of strict rules.

In the early hours of April 18, 2020, two fire bombs exploded outside the Athens offices of the Skai Media Group, which houses the daily Kathimerini newspaper and the Skai radio and TV broadcaster, according to a report by Kathimerini.

New York, April 22, 2020 — Authorities in Madagascar should immediately release journalist Arphine Helisoa and halt the legal proceedings against her, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New Delhi, April 22, 2020 — Authorities in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir should stop harassing journalists with police investigations, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

New York, April 22, 2020 — Algerian authorities must immediately unblock the news websites Interlignes, Maghreb Emergent, and Radiom, and ensure that all media outlets can publish online freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

In 2018, a group of conservative journalists opposed to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his right-wing government launched Magyar Hang, an independent weekly magazine. Since then, government officials and their supporters have repeatedly harassed employees of the magazine, calling them “traitors” for opposing Orbán, accusing them of spreading fake news, and threatening them with…

Philippine journalist Frenchiemae Cumpio has been held in detention since February 7, 2020, on “illegal firearms possession” charges, according to news reports and a statement by the National Union of the Journalists of the Philippines, a local press freedom group.

Miami, April 21, 2020 — Cuban authorities must drop the fine imposed on reporter Mónica Baró and refrain from using Decree 370 to harass independent journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.