Social Media

“We were all journalists, so we went to work. We wrote about what happened to us that day,” Ashraf Abdelaziz, editor-in-chief of the privately owned al-Jarida daily told me over the phone this week, while recounting how he and his colleagues reported on their own arrest while still in detention.

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined more than 20 rights organizations and the #KeepItOn Coalition to call for authorities in Zimbabwe to restore internet and social media services, commit to maintaining internet access, and encourage accountability from telecommunication and internet service providers to respect human rights.

Long before one of their photographers was harassed on election night in Brazil, the editors at Fortaleza newspaper O Povo were meeting with their readers and staff to discuss the increasingly polarized environment and how to deal with it.

Washington D.C, December 21, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Sudanese authorities to stop trying to stifle news coverage of this week’s widespread anti-government protests. Internet service in Sudan, including access to social media websites, was disrupted today, according to Access Now and NetBlocks, two organizations that track internet shutdowns. Yesterday, the local…

Journalist sentenced to over 7 years in jail A court in the eastern Muş city on October 10 sentenced Seda Taşkın, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya News Agency (MA), to a total of seven years and six months in prison, her employer reported. Taşkın attended the hearing via teleconference from the Sincan Women’s Prison,…

New York, September 25, 2018–Nicaraguan authorities should investigate a targeted online harassment campaign against freelance journalist Carl David Goette-Luciak, find those responsible, and ensure his safety, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Search for “Al-Jazeera” on Snapchat, and the first result that comes up is a ubiquitous publisher channel in the app’s famed vertical layout. That is, unless you are in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), or Bahrain. Users in these counties are instead offered a list of stores and restaurants that bear a similar…

New York, August 31, 2018–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the harsh sentences Iranian authorities imposed on at least seven journalists over their coverage of protests by a religious order.

Pakistan’s general elections are scheduled for July 25. Journalists covering the election may face intimidation or physical aggression, especially when covering political rallies and protests, and the possibility of terrorist attacks. In May, the Pakistan-based media watchdog Freedom Network documented 23 violations against the media. Journalists are also at risk of abduction or increased online…

Pia Randa is in Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte’s crosshairs. At presidential press conferences, Duterte has repeatedly singled out the reporter by name and referred to Rappler, the news site where she works, as “fake news” and her reporting as “corrupt” and “biased” against his administration.