Journalists attacked, harassed, and threatened while covering Liberian senate election
In the days leading up to and following senatorial elections in Liberia on December 8, 2020, security forces and civilians attacked, harassed, and threatened members of the press, according to journalists who spoke with CPJ and a statement shared on Facebook by the Press Union of Liberia, a local trade group. On November 30, in…
Ugandan networks block The Elephant news website before election
Several Ugandan internet networks blocked Kenya-based news website The Elephant in mid-December 2020, according to the site’s publisher, John Githongo, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app in January 2021, and a report by Qurium, a non-profit foundation registered in Sweden that provides hosting services for the website. Githongo told CPJ on January 19 that…
Internet access cut, social media banned during Uganda elections
Nairobi, January 14, 2021 – Ugandan authorities should immediately cease all efforts to disrupt internet access in the country and allow the press to cover the country’s elections freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Yesterday, the Uganda Communications Commission, the country’s broadcasting and telecommunication regulator, ordered telecommunications providers to suspend internet services in…
CPJ joins call for Uganda to maintain internet access during election
The Committee to Protect Journalists today joined 54 other organizations in a letter to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni calling on him to ensure open and unrestricted internet access during and after the country’s presidential election, scheduled for January 14. The letter notes that disruptions to internet access would undermine journalists’ ability to report on the…
Police beat, detain journalists covering opposition candidates ahead of Uganda elections
Nairobi, January 7, 2021 – Ugandan security forces should stop harassing and attacking journalists, and should ensure that the press can freely cover the country’s upcoming elections, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since December 11, security officers have assaulted at least 10 journalists covering opposition events ahead of the country’s January 14 presidential…
CPJ urges respect for United States press freedom, journalist safety
New York, January 6, 2020—In response to events today in Washington D.C., the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “We are gravely concerned by today’s attack on American institutions, including the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., where journalists as well as lawmakers are at risk,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “Journalists and…
Journalists in Uganda face accreditation hurdles ahead of election, risk criminal sanction
Nairobi, December 23, 2020 — Ugandan authorities should ensure that members of the press can freely cover the country’s national elections on January 14, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On December 10, the Media Council of Uganda, a statutory body, said that local and foreign journalists would be barred from covering electoral events…
Journalists attacked, deported ahead of January elections in Uganda
Nairobi, December 11, 2020 — Ugandan authorities should ensure that journalists can cover the country’s upcoming elections safely and freely and should thoroughly investigate all attacks on the press by members of the public and by security forces, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Since early November, police officers and members of the public…
CPJ testifies to US Congress, calls for more effort to fight restrictions on press
Journalists working around the world continue to face a wide variety of challenges, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. government must redouble its efforts to defend press freedom, CPJ Advocacy Director Courtney Radsch said during testimony to the U.S. Congress today. Addressing the House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and…
Conspiracy theories grow in the U.S., creating threats to journalist safety
On the eve of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, conspiracy theories have abounded online amid the global pandemic and a polarized political climate. Journalists covering nearly every beat grapple with misinformation, which is false but may be spread by mistake, as well as disinformation, when falsehoods are shared intentionally. QAnon has emerged as one…