Category: Access & Censorship

Police in Minnesota Round Up, Detain Photographers Covering a Protest

Detained, forced on their stomachs, and not released until they submitted to having faces and press credentials photographed.

Tim Evans, a freelance photojournalist for the European Pressphoto Agency, says he was tackled to the ground, punched, and sprayed with chemical irritants. He claims that all the while, he was identifying himself as press with his credentials clearly visible. He goes on to claim that the officer who had carried out this attack took Evans’ press badge and threw it away, saying he didn’t care if he was with the media.

Opinion | Justice may finally arrive for photojournalist slain in Libya

Relatives must be allowed to know the fate of their loved ones.

Ten years ago, on April 5, 2011, photojournalist Anton Hammerl was killed in Libya when loyalists to Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi targeted Hammerl and several other journalists he was traveling with. The assailants opened fire on them although they clearly identified themselves as members of the international media.

Myanmar Soldiers, Aiming to Silence Protests, Target Journalists

The security forces have arrested at least 56 reporters, outlawed online news outlets and crippled communications. Young people have stepped in with their phones to help document the brutality.

Another photojournalist shot that day, U Si Thu, 36, was hit in his left hand as he was holding his camera to his face and photographing soldiers in Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city. He said he believes the soldier who shot him was aiming for his head.

Tennessee Bill to Make 'Offensive' Nonconsensual Photos Illegal

Tennessee state lawmakers working together with the Sullivan County District Attorney's Office have introduced a bill to the state legislature that seeks

This new law would target those who are taking “embarrassing” or “offensive” images of people in public but would apparently not target general public photography. This new bill, which you can read here, would make it illegal to take a photo for the purpose of “sexual gratification or arousal.” This would apply to photos that would offend or embarrass the subject or are focused specifically on an “intimate” part of the body.

Journalists Covering the 2021 Inauguration Urge Officials to Allow Them to Wear Protective Equipment

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), New York Times, and Washington Post are urging

“We heard through the Reporters Committee’s hotline that one photojournalist wore a bulletproof vest that prevented her from getting injured when she was stabbed by one of the members of the mob,” the letter reads. “Accordingly, we request that credentialed journalists covering the 2021 inauguration be allowed to carry this life-saving gear, at least outside the most secured area where the inauguration will occur.”

Reporters covering the Capitol attack were used to harassment and heckling. But Wednesday was different. - Poynter

Rioters spat at reporters and hurled slurs. They chased journalists down and destroyed their gear. Some physically assaulted media workers.

When Trump took the stage Wednesday at his “Save America” rally, he started his speech with a rant against the media, calling it “the biggest problem we have as far as I’m concerned — single biggest problem” and falsely claiming “fake news” had stolen the election. Hours later, some of his supporters had taken his message to heart and went after the media members who they saw as responsible for Trump’s loss in the 2020 election.

Covering Pro-Trump Mobs, the News Media Became a Target

“Murder the media” was scratched into a door of the Capitol. Violent protesters smashed equipment and punched a photographer.

As Trump supporters rampaged on Wednesday, incited by the president’s false claims of a stolen election, they hit on a secondary target: journalists.

Protests Erupt in France Over Proposal to Limit Publication of Images of Police

Protests have erupted across France over a proposed security law that would greatly limit the publication of images of police officers. The controversial

The controversial Article 24 in the new Global Security Bill pushed by French President Emmanuel Macron’s government and police unions would make it illegal to publish images of police officers with the intent to cause them harm. Offenders would face up to a year in jail and a fine of €45,000 (~$53,000).

Protection of who? - Thoughts of a Bohemian

A new law restricting what can be photographed is threatening the fabric of French democracy. It might snowball into other countries..

Proscribing the photographing of people in public places, the depiction of the consequence of violent attacks, and the recording of abuse of power is dramatically limiting citizens’ access to information—the type of information needed to have a healthy democracy. If similar laws were considered in countries with an established fascist regime, it would not surprise anyone.  They all start by suppressing access to information.

Million MAGA March: Unravelling a Violent Viral Video - bellingcat

A video showing left-wing protesters attacking a right-wing activist spread across social media after the "Million MAGA March" in Washington DC. But did it tell the whole story?

While the daytime rally included several skirmishes, the number of violent incidents escalated significantly after sunset. There is ample evidence of violence from pro-Trump demonstrators. One assaulted freelance journalist Talia Jane, while a Proud Boy was filmed punching a French photographer in the face. At one point, a large group of Proud Boys and Trump supporters charged at counter-protesters en masse. To be clear, there was also evidence of assaults by left-wing demonstrators, as later highlighted by Trump. But the President’s framing of events erased the violence of his own supporters and painted a misleading, one-sided account.

Exposing Rodrigo Duterte's War on the Free Press

Director Ramona Diaz and journalist Maria Ressa discuss their struggles to make A Thousand Cuts, a film about the autocratic president of the Philippines.

“It all goes back to Silicon Valley,” Ressa adds. A Thousand Cuts follows the Philippines 2019 legislative elections, when for the first time in 80 years, the opposition failed to secure even a single seat. It illuminates the Duterte government’s use of propaganda and social media to lie to their citizens, obscuring what many of them know to be the truth. This “post-truth” reality is one many people are now far too familiar with, even outside the Philippines. “When Facebook sells our most vulnerable data to the highest bidder, we no more have facts to hold each other accountable by. Accountability from the tech companies is a prerequisite to claim our democracies back. You do not have democracy if you don’t have facts,” Ressa asserts. In one scene, Duterte tells a Rappler journalist, “You will be allowed to criticize us. But you will go to jail for your crimes.” I was immediately reminded of the likes of Gauri Lankesh and Vikram Joshi, journalists back home in India who were murdered for speaking out against the country’s Hindu nationalist government.