CPJ Insider: April 2023 edition
French journalist Olivier Dubois released after nearly 2 years of captivity in Mali Olivier Dubois, a French freelancer, went missing on April 8, 2021, in the Malian region of Gao while seeking an interview with the local leader of the Al-Qaeda affiliated group Jamaa Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin. His abduction was made public in a video…
Pegasus spyware revelations are ‘a wake-up call for security on the internet’
Following recent revelations that journalists around the world were potential targets of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, the chief executive of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, spoke to CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “This should be a wake-up call for security on the internet,” Cathcart said. This week CPJ also joined more than 150 human rights groups and…
CPJ Insider: August 2021 edition
Joel Simon speaks “On the Media” In a segment for WNYC’s “On the Media” on July 23, CPJ’s executive director, Joel Simon, spoke to Brooke Gladstone about how this is the deadliest and most dangerous time to be a journalist that he’s ever seen. “There’s a complete transformation of the information environment,” Simon said. “It’s…
New York Times freelancer Jeffrey Moyo detained in Zimbabwe
In Zimbabwe, authorities arrested New York Times freelancer Jeffrey Moyo and charged him over allegedly misrepresenting the accreditation status of two of his Times colleagues. Authorities denied Moyo’s bail request, and ordered him to remain in custody until June 10. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in jail. In Myanmar, authorities’ crackdown…
Belarus makes it clear they will cross any red line to censor independent voices
In a shocking move, even for Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, authorities in Belarus forcibly diverted a jet to Minsk to arrest journalist Raman Pratasevich. The next day, Pratasevich appeared in a government video apparently confessing to “organizing mass riots.” In an op-ed for CNN, CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Gulnoza Said stressed how…
Murders of journalists more than double worldwide
Retaliatory killings of journalists worldwide rose significantly in 2020 from the previous year, but deaths covering war dropped sharply. A CPJ special report by Jennifer Dunham December 22, 2020 NEW YORK The number of journalists murdered in retaliation for their work more than doubled in 2020, as criminal gangs and militant groups targeted reporters working…
Record number of journalists jailed worldwide
Editor’s note: In 2019, CPJ published a new database of attacks on the press. Numbers for each subsequent prison census are liable to adjust yearly as CPJ learns of arrests, releases, or deaths in prison. For the most recent data, see cpj.org/data/imprisoned/. The number of journalists jailed globally because of their work hit a new high in 2020…
CPJ Insider: Press freedom accountability project, journalists freed, and more
Press Freedom Accountability Project On May 26, 2020, the day after George Floyd was killed, two reporters covering a demonstration in Minneapolis were struck by projectiles. Since then, the number of press freedom violations during Black Lives Matter protests has risen dramatically. More than 850 violations have been reported to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker—which…
Head of US Agency for Global Media ignores request to testify
Michael Pack, head of the United States Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America and several other outlets, has decided to ignore a bipartisan request to testify in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee about the dangers journalists face under his leadership. CPJ spoke with former VOA staffer Al Pessin about how…
Police militarization (and wildfires) put U.S. journalists at risk
An increasingly militarized police presence at protests across the United States creates a dangerous reporting environment, journalists told CPJ. Those covering unrest in the U.S. are encouraged to consult CPJ’s new legal guide, which explains the rights of journalists when confronted by law enforcement while covering a protest or political event. Female journalists in Pakistan…