Kashmiri media on the brink of extinction - Committee to Protect Journalists

The Torch is a weekly newsletter from the Committee to Protect Journalists that brings you the latest press freedom and journalist safety news from around the world. Subscribe here.

On August 5, the Indian government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a strict communication blackout in Jammu and Kashmir after stripping the state of its limited autonomous status under the Indian constitution. As restrictions continue, CPJ’s India correspondent, Kunal Majumder, traveled to Srinagar, Kashmir’s largest city, to speak to local journalists and find out how the blackout and other restrictions have affected the already-difficult working environment in Kashmir. During his trip, Majumder found that Kashmiri news media has been pushed to the brink of extinction.

In Egypt, authorities arrested at least three journalists since the beginning of protests in several cities throughout the country on September 19. Moreover, internet users throughout Egypt reported difficulty accessing Facebook Messenger as well as the websites of news outlets including the BBC, Al-Jazeera, and Al-Hurra.

Global press freedom updates

Haitian senator opens fire, injuring AP photographer Chery Dieu-Nalio
Bolivia’s forest fires expose risks for environmental reporters
Unidentified men assaulted a journalist from pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper in Hong Kong
Brazilian outlet AzMina faces criminal complaints and online harassment over article on abortion
Journalists fined and one jailed over criminal defamation complaint in Chad
Police attack Indonesian journalists covering protest in South Sulawesi
A Croatian journalist was detained and fined for a satirical tweet
CPJ joins 12 other press freedom and freedom of expression organizations in calling on U.N. Human Rights Council member states to urge Turkey to end its repressive policies against independent reporting and free speech
CPJ calls on Thai prime minister to end government-imposed censorship and restore press freedom
CPJ issues a letter of support for fallen journalists memorial in Washington, D.C.

Spotlight

CPJ Senior Middle East and North Africa Researcher Justin Shilad speaks on Capitol Hill on September 26. (Margaux Ewen/James W. Foley Legacy Foundation)

Close to one year ago, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was brutally murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. This past week, CPJ’s Justin Shilad spoke at an event on the Hill where members of Congress gathered to speak out and demand justice for Khashoggi. On October 2, CPJ and partners will hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C. This event is free and open to the public.

If you didn’t get a chance to join events during L.A. Press Freedom Week, you can watch some of the panels here examining some of the most pressing issues in journalism today.

What we are reading

Americans, look to the Philippines to see a dystopian future created by social media — Maria Ressa, Los Angeles Times
September 2019 in Egypt, what we know so far about Internet censorship — Mohammad El-Taher
The Global Disinformation Order: 2019 Global Inventory of Social Media Manipulation — Samantha Bradshaw and Philip N. Howard, Computational Propaganda Research Project at the University of Oxford
The Growing Threat to Journalism Around the World — A.G. Sulzberger, The New York Times
For the Incarcerated, Drawing Is a Lifeline — Hilarie M. Sheets, The New York Times
Factually: Why are people not more outraged about disinformation? — Susan Benkelman and Daniel Funke, American Press Institute
Photojournalists’ last shots — Akintunde Ahmad, Columbia Journalism Review

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