All Incidents - U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

California journalists sued for ‘hacking’ city’s open Dropbox folder; barred from publishing

October 24, 2019

In a complaint filed in the California Superior Court of Orange County on Oct. 24, 2019, the City of Fullerton, California, accused a community blog and two contributors of violating anti-hacking laws for accessing confidential files city employees posted online, according to their lawyer Kelly Aviles and court documents reviewed by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Aviles told CPJ in December that the suit could go to a jury trial in early 2020. The press freedom and legal advocacy group …

Judge orders ProPublica Illinois, other media, not to publish details of juvenile court case

March 14, 2019

On March 14, 2019, a Cook County Juvenile Court judge ordered ProPublica Illinois and other news organizations not to publish certain details about an ongoing child welfare case in the Chicago-based juvenile court.In the course of reporting on child welfare issues, a ProPublica Illinois reporter had learned about the case. On March 7, after the reporter tried to attend a hearing in the case, the hearing was closed to the public and press.Bruce Boyer — a Loyola University law professor …

BGA_prior restraint_021119

Illinois County judge orders watchdog publication not to publish school records released by lawyer

February 4, 2019

A Cook County judge ordered the the Better Government Association, an Illinois investigative government watchdog, not to publish records released …

Los Angeles times temporary restraining order

Judge orders Los Angeles Times to delete published article about plea deal

July 14, 2018

On July 17, the judge vacated the order, freeing the Times to write about the plea deal.

Polk County, Iowa courthouse

Iowa judge orders Des Moines Register not to publish article about attorney

December 11, 2017

On Dec. 11, 2017, Iowa Supreme Court judge David Wiggins issued an order prohibiting the Des Moines Register and reporter …

Category Results

Total Results	5
Journalists affected	3
Institutions affected	5

How we track Arrests And Criminal Charges

Journalists arrested and taken into custody and/or charged with a crime. Journalists who are still facing charges as of August 2, 2017 are included in this category even if the charges were filed in a previous year.

How we track Border Stops

Journalists stopped at the border and subjected to prolonged, invasive questioning or who have their electronic devices searched or are asked to provide passwords. We count border stops even if we are unable to draw a direct connection between the stop and the journalist’s work activities, because the resistance of U.S. authorities to provide information makes it extremely difficult to identify the motive and because invasive questioning or device searches could jeopardize source confidentiality no matter the motive. Not every stop at the border is a press freedom violation, but we believe it is essential to capture patterns related to these stops. This category also includes cases where journalists are prevented from entering the country if it appears that their inability to enter the country is related to their work.

How we track Subpoenas And Legal Orders

Subpoenas or legal orders requiring journalists to testify in court or produce journalistic records or work product. This category also includes orders targeted at third parties who have access to journalistic records or work product. Because many subpoenas are not publicly reported and legal orders for journalist records are conducted with high levels of secrecy, the numbers in this category are likely to underestimate actual cases.

How we track Leak Cases

Government employees or contractors investigated or prosecuted for disclosing information to journalists or media platforms. This category does not include leak cases where information was not leaked to the media.

How we track Equipment Searches And Seizures

Journalists’ equipment searched or seized by law enforcement in the course of their work.

How we track Physical Attacks

Journalists who face physical violence, either as the result of a targeted attack by a public or private individual or in the course of their work. If a journalist is hit by rubber bullets or bean bag rounds, it will be counted in this category.

Damage to equipment is counted in a separate "Equipment Damage" category, but may be also listed in this Physical Attack category if the damage occurs with an attack.

Journalists affected by tear gas, pepper spray, or other mass riot control agents will be counted if the individual suffers serious injury or appears to have been specifically targeted. Incidents that fall outside these parameters and in which multiple journalists were affected by riot control agents may be counted in the “Other” category.

How we track Denials Of Access

Denial of access to government events that are traditionally open or attended by the press and where the denial of access either deprives the public of significant information, appears to be retaliatory, or is done without meaningful justification. Concrete changes in policy or practice to restrict or deny access may also be included in this category.

Denial of access to individuals in some cases, such as where the available space limits the number of journalists allowed to attend or where individuals arguing for access do not meet reasonable standards for credentials, can be seen as meaningful justifications and will not be included.

How we track Chilling Statements

Selected public threats made to reporters and media organizations by U.S. politicians and other public figures, which can have a chilling effect on journalism.

FEATURED STORY

From ‘fake news’ to ‘enemy of the people’: An Anatomy of Trump’s tweets

From June 16, 2015, when Donald Trump declared his candidacy for president, to today, where he sits as leader of the free world, every tweet in which he mentions the media, individual journalists, news outlets, or journalistic sources in a negative tone is being tracked in a database.

Contributor Stephanie Sugars, who created that database with the Committee to Protect Journalists and manages its ongoing accounting, explored rhetoric from the first two years of Trump’s presidency in a blog post.

As the president continues to communicate through Twitter, this live database offers a continued tracking.

How we track Other Incidents

Incidents that fall outside the scope of other categories, but reach a threshold of concern as determined by editorial discretion. This category is not meant to be comprehensive, but aims to highlight emblematic threats and harassment, vandalism and clearly abusive lawsuits. See our FAQ page for more information.

Updated August 2020

How we track Prior Restraints

News organizations or journalists who are ordered by a judge not to publish information under threat of punishment

How we track Equipment Damage

Damage to a journalist's equipment or property, either as the result of a targeted attack by a public or private individual or in the course of their work.

U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is led by the Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Committee to Protect Journalists, in collaboration with leading press freedom groups.

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