Al Jazeera’s AJ+ ordered to register as foreign agent

September 14, 2020
The U.S. Department of Justice ordered Al Jazeera’s U.S.-based social media division, AJ+, to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act on Sept. 14, 2020.In a letter obtained by Mother Jones, Jay Bratt, chief of the DOJ’s counterintelligence and export control section, wrote that AJ+ acts “at the direction and control” of the leaders of Qatar.“Despite assertions of editorial independence and freedom of expression, Al Jazeera Media Network and its affiliates are controlled and funded by …

July: Journalists threatened with arrest while reporting from protests across the nation

July 1, 2020
George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, ignited a sweeping assembly of protesters across the United States — and the globe — a staggering, monthslong outcry for police reform and racial justice. In many moments peaceful, in many others bracingly violent, journalists of all stripes took to documenting these demonstrations. At times, to do the job meant to expose oneself to the effects of riot-control agents, to face harassment from individuals or law enforcement officials, to fear for …

Six former eBay employees arrested for alleged harassment campaign against journalists

June 15, 2020
The FBI announced charges against six former eBay employees on June 15, 2020, for their alleged participation in a campaign of harassment and intimidation against the editor and publisher of an online e-commerce news site.David and Ina Steiner, who are married, have run the blog and newsletter ECommerceBytes for more than two decades out of their home in Natick, Massachusetts, the Wall Street Journal reported, focusing their coverage on online retailers, including Amazon, Craigslist and eBay.The Steiners did not respond …

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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