false news

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Burkina Faso's presidential palace is seen in Ouagadougou on March 20, 2019. The president and Constitutional Council have the power to prevent the enactment of revisions of the country's penal code that could result in jail time for reporters. (AFP/Olympia de Maismont)

Burkina Faso parliament passes legal revisions criminalizing false news, reporting on terrorism

New York, July 3, 2019 — Burkina Faso authorities should prevent the enactment of revisions of the penal code that criminalize false news and reporting on terrorism or security operations, and ensure laws do not permit jail time for reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Cameroonian police officers are seen on October 3, 2018. Police recently arrested journalist Paul Chouta on criminal defamation and false news charges. (AFP/Marco Longari)

Cameroonian journalist detained on criminal defamation and false news charges

Abidjan, June 20, 2019 — Cameroonian authorities should immediately release journalist Paul Chouta and drop criminal defamation and false news charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Anar Mammadov, editor-in-chief of independent news website Criminal.az, is set to appeal his conviction on false news, anti-state, and other charges on June 4. (Anar Mammadov)

Azerbaijani journalist to appeal 5.5 year suspended prison sentence

Washington, D.C., May 29, 2019 — Azerbaijani authorities should drop the charges against journalist Anar Mammadov and allow him to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Taiwan's digital minister, Audrey Tang, in an interview with CPJ, compares disinformation to a virus and proactive counter-messaging to a vaccine. (CPJ/Steven Butler)

Q&A: Taiwan’s digital minister on combatting disinformation without censorship

Audrey Tang prefers precise language. During an interview, Taiwan’s minister without portfolio – Tang’s name card simply says “digital minister” – makes a swift correction when we mention the term “fake news.” The preferred term is “disinformation” because, Tang says, it has a legal definition in Taiwan: “That is to say, intentional, harmful untruth, and…

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Prison guards are seen at Somaliland's Hargeisa prison on March 29, 2011. Television reporter Abdirahman Keyse Mohamed was recently arrested by police in Somaliland and is being held without charge in a prison in Las Anod. (AP/Katharine Houreld)

Somaliland journalist injured during arrest, jailed without charge

Nairobi, May 17, 2019 — Authorities in the breakaway state of Somaliland should immediately release television reporter Abdirahman Keyse Mohamed, also known as Tungub, and investigate the police officer who fired a shot that injured the journalist during his arrest, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A banner depicting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is seen outside a polling station, during the referendum on draft constitutional amendments, in Cairo, Egypt, on April 20, 2019. (Reuters/Amr Abdallah Dalsh)

Egypt tests new censorship law with handling of al-Mashhad website block

Magdy Shandi, editor-in-chief of the Cairo-based independent newspaper al-Mashhad, planned to send 30 journalists to report from polling stations while votes were being cast in Egypt’s constitutional referendum between April 20 and April 22. He ended up ordering them to stay away, he told CPJ in a telephone interview in May. The state’s media regulator…

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Police officers are seen in Cotonou, Benin, on March 9, 2018. Beninese authorities recently launched a fake news investigation into Casimir Kpedjo, editor of the privately owned daily Nouvelle Economie. (AFP/Yanick Folly)

Journalist Casimir Kpedjo detained, facing false news accusations in Benin

Goma, Congo, April 30, 2019 — Beninese authorities should drop their investigation into Casimir Kpedjo, editor of the privately owned daily Nouvelle Economie, and allow him to report and publish news without fear of harassment or being jailed, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Singapore's Parliament House is seen on March 20, 2019. The country is currently considering a law that poses a threat to freedom of speech online. (Roslan Rahman/AFP)

Singapore ‘fake news’ legislation endangers press freedom

Bangkok, April 2, 2019 — The Committee to Protect Journalists called today on the Singapore parliament to reject legislation that would force online platforms to take down or amend news or information authorities deem as false.

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Tanzanians sit next to a tree in Dar es Salaam in 2015. Tanzanian authorities this week imposed a temporary ban on The Citizen over its reporting. (AP/Khalfan Said)

Tanzania imposes 7-day publication ban on The Citizen

Nairobi, March 1, 2019–Authorities in Tanzania should lift a seven-day publication ban on the privately owned newspaper The Citizen and allow journalists to report on matters of public interest freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Information Services Department, which oversees newspaper licenses, temporarily suspended the publication license of The Citizen on February…

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People read a newspaper carrying headlines of the general election results in Dhaka on December 31, 2018. Several journalists were attacked and one was detained while covering the vote. (AFP/Indranil Mukherjee)

Journalist arrested, others beaten during Bangladesh elections

New York, January 2, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Bangladeshi authorities to immediately release Hedait Hossain Molla, a reporter who was arrested in Khulna yesterday in relation to his election coverage, according to news reports.

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