COVID-19

258 results arranged by date

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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A police officer is seen in Mexico City on April 25, 2020. The Mexican Interior Secretariat recently threatened two news companies over their coronavirus coverage. (AP/Fernando Llano)

Mexican government threatens outlets over COVID-19 coverage

On two occasions in April 2020, the Mexican federal Interior Secretariat issued warnings to news outlets over their coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic and threatened to file administrative sanctions against them.

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A banner reading “300,000 cases in the world, 15,000 deaths because of coronavirus! Stay at home and save lives!” hangs at the Cidade de Deus favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 7, 2020, during the COVID-19 outbreak. Rio’s community journalists face daily challenges informing favela residents about COVID-19. (AFP/Mauro Pimentel)

In Brazil, Rio’s community journalists face daily challenges informing favela residents about COVID-19

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Gizele Martins and Raull Santiago—community journalists from Rio de Janeiro’s favelas—worked to bring accurate news and information to the local population and to give visibility to their struggles. Their organizations are among dozens of media groups founded by residents of Rio’s favelas and other marginalized areas aiming to challenge stereotypes,…

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CPJ, 192 partner organizations urge UN Secretary General to take action to secure release of jailed journalists amid COVID-19

The #FreeThePress campaign, made up of 193 press freedom and human rights organizations and the more than 11,337 concerned citizens who signed the petition, urges the UN secretary general to take immediate action to secure the release of journalists jailed around the world whose lives are risk due to the spread of COVID-19.

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A man collects supplies over barbed wire in the coronavirus lockdown area of Selayang Baru, outside of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on April 26, 2020. A journalist faces prison time over her social media posts on the health crisis. (AP/Vincent Thian)

Malaysian journalist faces six years in prison over COVID-19 Facebook posts

When Malaysian journalist Wan Noor Hayati Wan Alias criticized a government decision to allow a cruise ship with Chinese tourists to dock and disembark at the coastal city of Penang in late January, a time when China was at the epicenter of the COVID-19 global pandemic, she was criminally charged with causing a public panic.

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Rohingya refugees are seen in a camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on December 11, 2019. CPJ recently spoke with refugee and journalist Ro Sawyeddollah about working in the camp. (AFP/Munir Uz Zamin)

Journalist in Rohingya refugee camp describes bracing for coronavirus without access to internet

Ro Sawyeddollah has lived in a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, since he fled Myanmar along with thousands of other ethnic Rohingya in 2017, where the U.N. found that Rohingya live under threat of genocide.

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An antenna is seen in Bogota, Colombia, on December 19, 2019. The Global Network Initiative, a coalition of groups including CPJ, recently called on govermnents to maintain internet connectivity during the COVID-19 crisis. (Reuters/Luis Jaime Acosta)

Network shutdowns restrict reporting during COVID-19 crisis

The Global Network Initiative, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations of which CPJ is a member, issued a statement yesterday calling on governments to refrain from shutting down internet access amid the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Swazi King Mswati III addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 25, 2019. Swazi authorities recently detained and harassed journalists writing about the king. (AP/Craig Ruttle)

Swaziland journalists harassed, threatened with treason charges over reporting on king

New York, April 30, 2020 — Swaziland police should stop intimidating and harassing local journalists for reporting critically about King Mswati III and should allow them to write freely without the threat of treason charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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A courthouse is seen in Istanbul, Turkey, on December 11, 2019. An Istanbul court recently filed charges against journalist Fatih Portakal. (AFP/Ozan Kose)

Turkish journalist Fatih Portakal charged for tweet about president’s speech

Istanbul, April 30, 2020 – Turkish authorities should drop the charges against journalist Fatih Portakal and allow him to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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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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