#FreeThePress
In 2023, jailed journalist numbers were near a record high as Israel imprisonments spiked Globally, 320 journalists were imprisoned in connection with their work on December 1, 2023, the second highest recorded since CPJ started recording this data. The previous record was set in 2022, when more than 360 appeared in CPJ’s database. In 2023,…
TikTok ban in India and US could set a risky precedent
India recently banned the social media app TikTok, and President Donald Trump has issued an order saying the U.S. will follow suit should the app remain Chinese-owned. CPJ’s consultant technology editor, Madeline Earp, analyzed how the move could have implications for press freedom, particularly by normalizing bans with far more direct consequences for the news…
CPJ, nearly 400 journalists & civil society members call for release of imprisoned Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan
The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 397 writers, journalists, academics, press freedom advocates, and civil society members to urge Prime Minister Modi to immediately release Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan, who has been imprisoned for two years.
Hong Kong journalists “tiptoeing under a python in a chandelier”
The impact of Hong Kong’s new security law was felt by journalists this week with the police raid of the Apple Daily newsroom and arrests intended “not just to thwart [the founder Jimmy] Lai and his media group, but to intimidate Hong Kong’s entire community of journalists,” wrote CPJ’s Asia Program Coordinator Steven Butler in…
Bolivian photojournalist David Sapiencia attacked by protesters
Bogotá, August 11, 2020 – Bolivian authorities should quickly and thoroughly investigate the attack on journalist David Sapiencia, identify those responsible, and hold them to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On August 5, about two dozen protesters in the central Bolivian town of Mairana attacked Sapiencia, a freelance photojournalist, according to news…
Beirut’s journalists report on the explosion that tore through their lives and city
Six minutes after the explosion at the Port of Beirut on the evening of August 4, 2020, Natalia Sancha, a correspondent for the Spanish newspaper El Pais, was on her motorcycle, heading to the scene of the blast. Like so many journalists in the city, she was documenting the catastrophe as she was living it. The…
At least 2 journalists die after contracting COVID-19 in prison
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, of which CPJ is a co-founding member, has received more than 600 reports of aggressions against the press during the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests. Last week, CPJ called on all U.S. law enforcement to stop using aggressive tactics against journalists covering protests, including in Portland, where U.S. federal law…
US, UK, Interpol give Ghana phone hacking tools, CPJ investigation finds
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is investigating nearly 500 press freedom violations reported during protests in the U.S. since late May. Incidents include arrests, assaults, attacks with rubber bullets, pepper spray, and teargas, among others. The majority of the abuses were at the hands of police. A new investigation by CPJ’s senior Africa researcher, Jonathan…
Data journalists describe challenges of reporting on the true toll of COVID-19
How many people worldwide have been infected by the coronavirus, and how many have died as a result? Finding reliable information on the virus’s toll has proven such a challenging task that it is nearly impossible to answer these basic questions, five data journalists from around the world told CPJ in May and June. In…
CPJ announces 2020 International Press Freedom awardees
New York, July 13, 2020–The Committee to Protect Journalists will honor four courageous journalists from Bangladesh, Iran, Nigeria, and Russia with the 2020 International Press Freedom Awards. All four have been arrested or faced criminal prosecution in reprisal for their reporting. CPJ will also honor lawyer Amal Clooney with the Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award. …