All Incidents - U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

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Photojournalists hit with rubber bullets while covering a protest in Kenosha

August 25, 2020

Rubber bullets fired by law enforcement officers injured two photojournalists from national media outlets as they covered a protest against …

New York Times reporter taunted, threatened during Albuquerque protest

June 15, 2020

New York Times reporter Simon Romero was taunted and threatened by a man armed with a military-style rifle while covering protests in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 15, 2020.The protest was organized to demand the removal of a statue of Juan de Oñate, a 16th- and 17th-century conquistador and colonial governor in New Mexico at the center of long-standing tension between Pueblo Native Americans and Hispanic people in the state. It was one in a surge of demonstrations across the …

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Liberty University obtains trespassing warrants against two journalists

April 6, 2020

Arrest warrants were issued on April 6, 2020, for two journalists after they visited Liberty University to cover the school's …

White House plans to instruct federal agencies to cancel subscriptions to two major news outlets

October 24, 2019

The White House announced that President Donald Trump plans to instruct federal agencies to not renew their subscriptions to The …

New York Times reports that conservative operatives are compiling dossiers on journalists

August 25, 2019

According to a New York Times article published on Aug. 25, 2019, a “loose network of conservative operatives” supporting President …

Screenshot of anonymous New York Times op-ed

Trump tells DOJ to investigate author of anonymous op-ed criticizing him

September 7, 2018

“I would say [Attorney General Jeff Sessions] should be investigating who the author of that piece was,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

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New York Times editor testifies in defamation suit brought by former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin

August 10, 2017

A New York Southern District judge ruled on Aug. 10, 2017, that the author of a New York Times article …

Journalists work in the briefing room at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 24, 2017. Several major news organizations including CNN, The New York Times and Politico were excluded from an off camera "gaggle" meeting with White House Press Secre

Reporters excluded from press briefing

February 24, 2017

Aides to White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer barred 11 news outlets from attending an informal briefing known as a …

Category Results

Total Results	8
Journalists affected	7
Institutions affected	10
Results in 2020	3

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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