NSO Group responds to spyware abuse allegations with spin
Entering the terms “NSO Group,” “journalists,” and “spying” into a Google search from a workstation in New York City recently produced a sponsored search result at the top of the page. The NSO Group manufactures some of the world’s most sophisticated and high-profile spyware, and its sponsored link invites readers to a slick website touting…
Journalist Hiram Moreno survives gun attack in Oaxaca, Mexico
Mexico City, March 22, 2019 — Authorities must immediately investigate an attack on Mexican journalist Hiram Moreno and guarantee his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Moreno, the editor of news website Evidencias, survived a shooting in Salina Cruz, a town in Oaxaca state, on March 20, according to news reports and an…
Internet blackouts in Venezuela, and fighting for justice in the Maldives
John Otis, CPJ’s Andes correspondent, reports on Venezuela’s internet blackout and the impact it has had on Venezuelans’ ability to access news and information. Three journalists have been killed in the last week, in Afghanistan, Honduras, and Mexico. CPJ Asia Program Research Associate Aliya Iftikhar recently returned from a reporting mission to the Maldives, where…
Radio reporter Santiago Barroso shot dead in Mexico’s Sonora state
Mexico City, March 19, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today urged Mexican authorities to thoroughly investigate the murder of radio journalist Santiago Barroso and bring the perpetrators to justice. The reporter was shot dead at his home in San Luis Río Colorado, in the northern Mexican state of Sonora, on March 15, according to news…
CPJ Insider: March 2019 edition
Venezuela’s press freedom crisis heats up CPJ’s Central and South America program and Emergencies Response Team have been in overdrive amid an intensifying press crackdown in Venezuela, which reached a new level when the Maduro government briefly detained Univision reporter and anchor Jorge Ramos and his crew on February 26.
Chhattisgarh’s plan for journalist safety law could be template for all India
Every day for two years, freelance journalist Santosh Yadav must walk the 50 or so yards from his home to the Darbha village police station in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, to sign a register. Just one missed day could immediately land him back in prison as he awaits trial on anti-terror charges. A police commander said that…
Philippines’ Maria Ressa detained and released over ‘political’ charge
The Philippine government’s legal harassment of the news website Rappler and Maria Ressa, its founder and executive editor, took an alarming turn Wednesday when officers from the National Bureau of Investigation arrested Ressa at Rappler‘s bureau in Manila and held her overnight over a cyber libel case filed against her by the Justice Department. Ressa’s…
Several journalists say US border agents questioned them about migrant coverage
New York, February 11, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists is concerned by reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is harassing journalists or subjecting them to invasive questioning during secondary screening when they cross into the United States.
UAE hired former NSA employees to surveil journalists and human rights activists
CPJ expressed concern that at least four journalists were surveilled under Project Raven, a United Arab Emirates cybersurveillance and hacking operation, according to a Reuters report. CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour called the involvement of U.S. intelligence officials in the operation “disturbing.” CPJ North America Research Assistant Stephanie Sugars took…