Brazilian Senate to vote on ‘fake news’ bill
New York, June 8, 2020 — Brazil’s Senate should drop proposed legislation seeking to regulate online content and so-called “fake news,” or amend the bill to ensure that free speech is protected, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Bill 2630, titled the “Lei das Fake News,” was originally scheduled for a vote on June…
Burundi court rejects imprisoned Iwacu journalists’ appeal
Nairobi, June 5, 2020 — In response to a Burundi court’s decision today to reject the appeal of four Iwacu media group journalists who are serving 2.5-year prison terms, as reported by their employer, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “Burundian authorities should never have arrested the four detained Iwacu journalists; rejecting…
Managing director of Iranian news agency convicted on false news charges
On May 31, 2020, Branch 6 of Tehran’s Media Court convicted Ali Motaghian, the managing director of the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA), on charges of “spreading false news,” according to a report by the news agency. CPJ could not determine what sentence Motaghian received or whether he is in custody. The semi-official Iranian…
Map: Attacks on press freedom during the COVID-19 pandemic
Updated June 22, 2021 CPJ has documented numerous press freedom violations since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, from legislation threatening to censor free speech to arrests of journalists providing the public with vital news about the virus. This map plots violations, verified by CPJ staff, across nearly every region of the world from early…
Authorities in India continue to investigate, detain journalists amid COVID-19 pandemic
Local authorities across India filed legal notices against, questioned, or detained at least eight journalists between March 29, 2020, and May 17, 2020, amid the country’s lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, according to CPJ interviews with the journalists and media reports. According to Om Sharma, a journalist with Hindi daily Divya Himachal in…
Puerto Rico authorities subpoena Facebook for information from student media outlets
On September 27, 2019, Denis Márquez, a member of Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives, told the staff of Pulso Estudiantil, a student-run newspaper based at the University of Puerto Rico, that the island’s Justice Department had acquired information from the paper’s Facebook account, as well as from Diálogo UPR and the Center for Student Communication,…
Bolivian decree broadens criminal sanctions for disinformation on COVID-19
Editors’ Note: On May 14, after CPJ published this article, the Bolivian representative to the Organization of American States announced that the government had issued a new decree eliminating the language that CPJ objected to in Decree 4231, and two other passages that had raised freedom of expression concerns, according to news reports and a…
