COVID-19

Berlin, February 11, 2022 — Hungarian authorities should not grant state media preferential access to public facilities, and should ensure that independent news outlets can cover the COVID-19 pandemic freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday. On February 4, the Hungarian government’s executive branch issued a decree empowering the Operational Corps, the government pandemic…

I don’t envy journalists from around the world who are entering China to cover the Beijing Olympics, held February 4 to 20. Perhaps never in history have the rules of the road for covering the games been so murky and the potential dangers so great for journalists who step over an as-yet-undefined red line that…

On January 31, 2022, the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) released findings from its annual member survey about press conditions in the country. The report, “Locked Down or Kicked Out,” found that 99% of foreign correspondents said China’s reporting conditions did not meet what they considered “international standards.” The survey also documented ways Chinese…

Throughout the pandemic journalists have played a crucial role informing the public about the risks of COVID-19.  The global situation continues to evolve, and many countries are increasing or relaxing travel restrictions and safety measures as coronavirus variants of concern are identified, and as the COVID-19 vaccination program gathers pace. Basic COVID-19 mitigation Consider getting…

PDF: English,ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, हिन्दी India is scheduled to hold legislative assembly elections in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand, and Manipur in February and March 2022. Media workers covering any of these elections should be aware of the potential risk of physical attack, intimidation, and harassment; online bullying; arrest and detention; and government restrictions…

Can China and the International Olympic Committee maintain a “bubble” of total press freedom inside China’s vast sea of repression? That’s the question facing thousands of journalists as they arrive in the coming weeks to cover the Beijing Winter Olympics, which kick off on February 4. (CPJ’s safety advisory for those attending addresses coronavirus restrictions…

The Olympic Winter Games take place in Beijing, China from February 4-20, 2022. Journalists covering the event are likely to face a range of challenges from coronavirus restrictions to digital surveillance. The Committee to Protect Journalists has expressed concern about the ability of the press to work freely during the event. China has been the…

As the number of journalists imprisoned globally for their work climbs to record highs, cases of those behind bars in Latin America remained relatively low. A total of six – three in Cuba, two in Nicaragua and one in Brazil – were in custody for their work as of December 1, according to the Committee…

Prospects for free-wheeling media coverage of the February Beijing Winter Olympics seem increasingly dim, not least because of the attitude of the International Olympic Committee. On October 13, John Coates, vice president of the International Olympic Committee, dismissed out of hand calls from CPJ, human rights groups, and US lawmakers to pressure Beijing over its…

On September 9, 2021, police in Mozambique’s central Nampula province harassed, beat, and detained at least six journalists covering protests over the government’s alleged delays in distributing financial relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to news reports and the journalists involved, who spoke with CPJ in phone interviews and via messaging app. The…