The Torch is a weekly newsletter from the Committee to Protect Journalists that brings you the latest press freedom and journalist safety news from around the world. Subscribe here.
CPJ expressed concern that at least four journalists were surveilled under Project Raven, a United Arab Emirates cybersurveillance and hacking operation, according to a Reuters report. CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour called the involvement of U.S. intelligence officials in the operation “disturbing.” CPJ North America Research Assistant Stephanie Sugars took a deep dive into President Trump’s tweets since announcing his candidacy in the 2016 presidential elections and found that about 10% contained negative rhetoric about the press, among other troubling patterns. Read the whole piece here, and view the accompanying spreadsheet here.
Global press freedom updates
- Raids, media shutdowns, and internet disruptions amid Venezuela crisis. If you are a journalist covering the political crisis in that country, make sure to check out our safety advisory here.
- U.S. court finds Syria ‘planned, executed extrajudicial killing’ of Marie Colvin
- Sudan arrests six critical journalists as protests continue
- Iran sentences journalist to five years over corruption report
- Mexican reporter assaulted with baseball bats in Baja California Sur
- Two Cameroonian journalists detained while covering opposition gathering in Douala
- Q&A: Rodney Sieh on how Liberia’s press is faring under Weah presidency
- Read the latest Turkey Crackdown Chronicle, CPJ’s weekly round-up of press freedom violations in the country
- CPJ condemns conviction of human rights journalist Liu Feiyue in China
- Taiwan accuses Beijing-sponsored Hong Kong newspapers of disseminating misinformation, opens immigration investigation into journalists
- India bars journalists in Jammu and Kashmir from covering Republic Day event
- Kurdish security forces detain TV crews and shut down broadcaster’s office in Iraqi Kurdistan
Spotlight
Join the Committee to Protect Journalists in demanding justice for murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the White House on February 7 for the culmination of CPJ’s #JusticeForJamal campaign. CPJ will hold a press conference to deliver this message and demand the White House take action on behalf of Khashoggi. CPJ will present hundreds of messages from journalists, advocates, and citizens, sharing why journalism is important to them and calling for accountability for Khashoggi’s murder.
This event is free and open to the public. You can also show your support on social media by filling out an online card and following the hashtag #JusticeForJamal.
What we are reading
- Under Watch: Reporting in China’s Surveillance State — Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC)
- A High School Allegedly Banned Students From Covering A Classmate’s Arrest — Tyler Kingkade, Buzzfeed
- Special Report: Inside the UAE’s secret hacking team of U.S. mercenaries — Christopher Bing & Joel Schectman, Reuters
- Trump has taken a personal interest in freeing American hostages. What’s he giving the hostage takers? — CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon, The Los Angeles Times
EDITOR’S NOTE: The text has been modified in the first paragraph to correct the timeframe for the analysis of Trump’s tweets.
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