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 Insider: Attacks on the press in U.S. Protests, COVID-19 continues, and more
CPJ Insider: Summer 2020 Edition Over recent weeks, as journalists across the United States were attacked and assaulted while reporting on the George Floyd protests, you stood with us and supported press freedom. Thank you. CPJ board, partners demand end to attacks on journalists at U.S. protests During the protests that spread quickly across the…
Russian journalists attacked while covering vote that would keep Putin in power
Since June 21, Russian authorities have attacked, arrested, or harassed at least five journalists in the lead-up to Wednesday’s plebiscite on amendments to the country’s constitution. If the referendum passes, President Vladimir Putin would be able to stay in power through 2036. Early voting on the measure began on June 25. Separately, in neighboring Belarus,…
U.S. continues tit-for-tat media visa war with China
Following the U.S. State Department’s decision to classify four more Chinese media organizations as “foreign missions” on Monday, CPJ called on the two countries to resolve their differences in negotiations. The organizations join five other Chinese state-funded news agencies that were reclassified as “foreign missions” by the U.S. government in February, a designation typically used…
CNN team arrested while covering Minneapolis protests
This morning, Minnesota police officers arrested a CNN crew covering protests in Minneapolis while they were live on air, as seen in a video from the broadcaster. The crew was released about an hour later. CPJ issued a statement condemning the arrests. As protests continue in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd, CPJ is concerned about the police department’s use of rubber bullets and…
Sophia Huang Xueqin
Chinese journalist Sophia Huang Xueqin has been held since September 2021 and went on trial in September 2023 for “inciting subversion of state power.” As of late 2023, she remained in custody and was awaiting a verdict in her trial. Huang is a freelance journalist who has covered social issues on her personal blog since…
Yang Hengjun
Australian blogger Yang Hengjun, also known as Yang Jun, is being held in China on espionage charges. Guangzhou police arrested Yang, a former Chinese diplomat turned blogger and political commentator, on January 19, 2019. He was tried in 2021 but no verdict has been publicized. Yang frequently posted commentary on Twitter, which later changed its…
Li Tingyu
Police in Dali, Yunnan province, detained Lu Yuyu and Li Tingyu, who are a couple, on June 15 2016, on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble, according to Radio Free Asia. Since October 2012, Lu had been collecting information about protests — including those against land expropriation, wage arrears, official corruption, and environmental pollution–on…