USA / Americas

For data on press freedom violations in the U.S., visit the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, a partnership between CPJ and Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Read CPJ’s report On Edge: What the US election could mean for journalists and global press freedom.

  

CPJ sends letter calling on Puerto Rico governor to respect press freedom

CPJ writes to the Puerto Rican governor to express concern about a recent amendment to the island’s public security law.

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The U.S. Capitol Building is seen on April 28, 2020, in Washington. CPJ recently joined several letters urging senators to increase Global Magnitsky Act funding. (AP/Andrew Harnik)

CPJ joins letters calling on US Senate to increase Magnitsky Act funding

The Committee to Protect Journalists recently joined 50 democracy, human rights, and anti-corruption organizations and experts in three letters urging U.S. Congressional leaders to retain and increase funding and capacity for the enforcement of the Global Magnitsky Act.

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People wait in line for a coronavirus test at a new walk-in testing sites that opened in the parking lot of NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health Morrisania in the Bronx section of New York on April 20, 2020. Photographers in New York and around the U.S. have had to navigate a new reality under COVID-19. (AFP/Timothy A. Clary)

Q&A: U.S. photographers navigate a new reality under COVID-19

As newsrooms across the United States gradually shut their doors in March and sent many journalists into the safety of their homes, others have no choice but to remain outside. Photojournalists throughout the U.S. and around the world are continuing to visually document how the world is adjusting to this historic moment amid the COVID-19…

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The Facebook logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen photographed on a COVID-19 illustration graphic background on March 25, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. CPJ and partners called on social media and content sharing platforms to preserve data amid the pandemic. (AFP/Olivier Douliery)

CPJ, partners call on social media and content sharing platforms to preserve data

The World Health Organization has called the novel coronavirus an “infodemic” and the topic of disinformation and “fake news” has remained at the forefront of this century’s worst pandemic, with social media and tech platforms playing a central role. COVID-19 has forced many companies to move to remote work, and tech platforms and social media…

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Protesters demonstrate at the state capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., on April 20, 2020, demanding that Gov. Tom Wolf reopen Pennsylvania's economy even as new social-distancing mandates took effect at stores and other commercial buildings to stem the spread of the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

CPJ Safety Advisory: Covering U.S. coronavirus anti-lockdown protests

Over the past week, protesters have held a series of demonstrations against “shelter in place” restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19 in more than a dozen U.S. states, according to news reports. There was also a small counter-protest by health care workers in Colorado, as reported by CNN.

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The Trump administration and the media

Attacks on press credibility endanger US democracy and global press freedom The Trump administration has stepped up prosecutions of news sources, interfered in the business of media owners, harassed journalists crossing U.S. borders, and empowered foreign leaders to restrict their own media. But Trump’s most effective ploy has been to destroy the credibility of the…

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About the Trump administration and the media report

Contents Report: Trump Administration and the Media Recommendations In Print Download the PDF More on this Report Letter to the White House Press release The Trump administration has stepped up prosecutions of news sources, interfered in the business of media owners, harassed journalists crossing U.S. borders, and empowered foreign leaders to restrict their own media….

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Trump’s attacks on credibility of the press are dangerously effective

Amid public health crisis, truth is a casualty, Downie finds in report for CPJ New York, April 16, 2020 —Of the many ways in which the Trump administration has attacked the press, its most effective and dangerous ploy has been to try to destroy the media’s credibility, undermining truth and consensus even as a pandemic…

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CPJ calls on Trump to improve press freedom in US

CPJ writes the White House about actions by the Trump administration that threaten news media and impede the free flow of information on issues of great public interest. We cite specifically regular statements that delegitimize the role of the press; retaliation against journalists for critical coverage; prosecutions that equate leaking classified documents to the press with espionage; the harassment of journalists at U.S. borders; and limitations on access to information.

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A passenger walks through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on March 15, 2020, in Seattle, Washington. CPJ recently spoke with journalists covering the COVID-19 pandemic in Seattle. (John Moore/Getty Images via AFP)

Seattle journalists describe covering COVID-19 as ‘relearning how to do their jobs’

Washington state was the first COVID-19 hotspot in the United States. Since its first case was reported on January 21, more than 10,000 people have been infected with the virus, and at least 511 have died.

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