All Incidents - U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

BuzzFeed reporter receives second subpoena in ongoing Unsworth-Musk defamation lawsuit

October 1, 2019

Ryan Mac, a senior technology reporter for BuzzFeed News, was issued his second subpoena in the ongoing case between caver …

BuzzFeed reporter receives subpoena in ongoing Unsworth-Musk defamation lawsuit

October 1, 2019

Ryan Mac, a senior technology reporter for BuzzFeed News, was issued his first subpoena in the unfolding case between caver …

Journalist Jamie Kalven subpoenaed to testify in police officer trial

November 26, 2018

Jamie Kalven was subpoenaed on November 16, 2018 to testify in the trial of three Chicago police officers accused of …

Oberlin College subpoenas local newspaper editor in defamation suit

November 30, 2018

On May 30, 2018, attorneys for Oberlin College in Ohio subpoenaed local newspaper editor Jason Hawk to testify about his confidential sources.Hawk, the editor of the Oberlin News Tribune, had reported in November 2016 on protests outside of Gibson’s Bakery, a local bakery that Oberlin College administrators and students accused of racial discrimination. In November 2017, the bakery sued Oberlin College in state court for defamation.As part of the defamation suit, Oberlin’s attorneys subpoenaed Gibson’s Bakery for records of its …

Samantha Baars subpoena

Journalist Samantha Baars subpoenaed to testify in Jason Kessler trial

March 30, 2018

C-VILLE Weekly reporter Samantha Baars was subpoenaed on March 12, 2018 to testify in the trial of Unite the Right …

Virginian-Pilot reporter subpoenaed to testify in councilman’s forgery trial

April 19, 2018

On June 25, 2018, a judge quashed the subpoena.

Arun Gupta subpoena

Freelance journalist subpoenaed by financial firm that he wrote about

May 17, 2018

Arun Gupta, a freelance journalist whose work has been published in The Nation and The Guardian, was subpoenaed on February …

Paul Anderegg subpoena

KGTV journalist subpoenaed to testify about car accident he witnessed

April 27, 2018

On March 19, the subpoena was quashed.

Category Results

Total Results	17
Journalists affected	16
Results in 2019	2

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 and injury, 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 of the other categories, but reach a threshold of interest as determined by editorial discretion. Incidents that may be counted in this category include threats, harassment, detentions that do not result in charges or arrest, clearly abusive lawsuits, and vandalism.

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.