The Committee to Protect Journalists has partnered with the International Center For Journalists and the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University on the journalism safety and press freedom aspects of their joint Journalism and the Pandemic Project, which today launched an online survey to track the COVID-19 pandemic’s global impact on journalism.
New York, May 13, 2020 – Russian authorities should not contest the appeal of Crimean journalist Nariman Memedeminov, ensure his safe return to Crimea, and allow him to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
New York, May 12, 2020 – Tajikistan authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into the attack on journalist Avazmad Ghurbatov and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
Berlin, May 12, 2020 — Authorities in Northern Ireland must quickly and thoroughly investigate threats made against journalists covering paramilitary activity and ensure their safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
While digital communication enables the public to receive critical information about the COVID-19 pandemic in real time, the same tools are enabling an “infodemic” of misinformation that “can hamper an effective public health response and create confusion and distrust,” according to the United Nations.
On April 16, 2020, Tanzania’s communications regulator banned the privately owned Mwananchi newspaper from publishing online for six months and fined it five million Tanzanian shillings ($2,173) for allegedly publishing false news, according to a public notice by the regulator and a report by the newspaper’s sister publication, The Citizen.