Taylor Swift, help us find missing Swiftie – U.S. journalist Austin Tice
AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Press freedom threats are increasing globally. The U.S. must push back.
Journalists and press freedom are under threat around the world. Governments and others abduct or kill journalists, censor reporting, and stifle newsgathering.
The U.S. must use its power and influence to protect reporters and press freedom globally. It must hold both allies and enemies to account for anti-press actions, and work to promote press protections and journalism internationally.
Featured Items
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British spy agency intercepted emails of journalists, considers them ‘threats’ alongside terrorists and hackers
Newly disclosed documents from Edward Snowden, revealed today by the Guardian, show that the British spy agency (and close NSA partner) GCHQ intercepted emails from many of the US and UK’s most well-known news organizations, including the New York Times, Washington Post, BBC, Reuters, the Guardian, Le Monde, the …
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Help Support New Zealand Investigative Reporter Nicky Hager’s Legal Defense Fund
On October 6th, New Zealand police raided the house of one of the country’s best independent investigative journalists, Nicky Hager, seizing many of his family’s belongings and his reporting equipment—all in the search for one of his sources. This is a flagrant violation of basic press freedom rights, and …
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Dangerous Law In Australia Could Criminalize Basic Reporting and Gut Internet Freedom
Earlier today, the Australian Senate passed a sweeping new ‘anti-terror’ law that will allow the Australian government to conduct mass surveillance on all of its citizens, will make whistleblowing on intelligence issues a crime, and threatens to criminalize basic reporting. The bill is an enormous threat to press freedom, free …
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Will the US State Department Condemn the UK Government For Using Terrorism Laws to Suppress Journalism?
In a disturbing ruling for democracy, a lower court in United Kingdom announced today that the detainment of journalist Glenn Greenwald’s partner David Miranda was lawful under the Terrorism Act, despite the fact that the UK government knew Miranda never was a terrorist. This disgraceful opinion equates acts of journalism …
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United States Plummets in Global Press Freedom Rankings
According to a new report from Reporters Without Borders, there was a profound erosion of press freedom in the United States in 2013. After a year of attacks on whistleblowers and digital journalists and revelations about mass surveillance, the United States plunged 13 spots in the group’s global …
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How US News Organziations Should Respond to Censorship in China
Influential voices are now arguing that the US should retaliate against the possible mass expulsion of American journalists from China by imposing similar restrictions on Chinese media operating in the US. Strong reactions to new and increasing restrictions in China are necessary, but this approach risks being counterproductive. Restricting …
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Will the US State Dept Condemn UK’s Attempt to Use ‘Terrorism’ Laws to Suppress Journalism?
(UPDATE: The State Department responds, see below) In a shocking court filing this week, the UK government accused journalist Glenn Greenwald’s partner David Miranda of “terrorism” for allegedly transporting leaked (and heavily encrypted) NSA documents from documentarian Laura Poitras in Germany to Greenwald in Brazil, on a journalistic …
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Investigating Acts of Journalism Under ‘Terrorism’ Laws Is A Hallmark of Authoritarian Regimes
In an outrageous and unacceptable attack on press freedom, Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald’s partner, David Miranda, was detained for almost nine hours at Heathrow airport in London earlier today under section 7 of the UK’s pernicious Terrorism Act. Miranda was returning to his home in Brazil after a week-long visit …
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Guantanamo’s Indefinite Prisoners Will Finally Have Cases Reviewed Just as Senate Committee Set to Hold Hearing On Closing Prison
Attorneys representing Guantanamo prisoners were notified by a government official late Friday night that the men who the Obama administration has determined can neither be prosecuted nor released will finally have their cases reviewed to determine whether they should still be indefinitely detained. In an email I obtained, retired Navy …
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Guantanamo Prisoners Ask Judge to Stop Force-Feeding So They Can Observe Ramadan
Lawyers for four hunger-striking Guantanamo prisoners filed a motion Sunday in federal court in Washington, DC, asking a judge to intervene and stop prison officials from force-feeding the men and administering medications associated with the procedure without their consent. The prisoners, Shaker Aamer, the last British resident detained at …
