‘The infections were constant:’ Julia Gavarrete among dozens of Salvadoran journalists targeted with Pegasus spyware
The day El Faro reporter Julia Gavarrete’s father passed away, her phone was infected with Pegasus spyware that could activate the microphone and camera, and read all her messages – one of multiple occasions her privacy was invaded with the tool over the course of several months. Gavarrete made this disturbing discovery while cooperating with…
Proposed Salvadoran ‘foreign agent’ law could impact media organizations
Guatemala City, November 16, 2021 – El Salvador’s congress should reject a proposed law that would require media outlets and journalists receiving funding or payments from abroad to register as “foreign agents,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Proposed by Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and presented to congress on November 9, the law would…
Without offering proof, Salvadoran President Bukele alleges money laundering investigation into El Faro news website
Managua, Nicaragua, September 30, 2020 – Salvadoran authorities should make public any details about an alleged money laundering investigation into the El Faro news website, and cease harassing independent media outlets, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. In a news conference on September 24, President Nayib Bukele announced that El Faro, an independent news…
InSight Crime’s Héctor Silva Avalos subject of alleged investigation, presidential tweets
Managua, September 4, 2020 – Salvadoran authorities should make public any details about an alleged criminal investigation into InSight Crime journalist Héctor Silva Ávalos and stop using official social media channels to criticize and harass independent journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On September 1, Salvadoran news website La Página published an article…
In the UK, ‘Megxit’ and Downing Street briefing change put focus on press access
Journalists and press associations in the United Kingdom this week debated issues of access and what constitutes “credible media,” as royal correspondents scrutinized the fall out from “Megxit”—the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s plan to step back from royal duties and the pool system of news coverage—and the Society of Editors raised concerns with Prime…
El Salvador bans 2 investigative outlets from press conferences at presidential residence
Amsterdam, September 11, 2019 — Salvadoran authorities should stop blocking investigative digital outlets El Faro and Revista Factum from attending press conferences at the Presidential House, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.