Press Freedom
CPJ Updates
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- Impunity in Indonesia: The leads left unfollowed in journalist Rico Sempurna Pasaribu’s murder
- Record 129 press members killed in 2025; Israel responsible for 2/3 of deaths
- ‘We returned from hell’: Palestinian journalists recount torture in Israeli prisons
- 2025 journalist jailings remain stubbornly high; harsh prison conditions pervasive
- Alarm bells: Trump’s first 100 days ramp up fear for the press, democracy
- 2024 is deadliest year for journalists in CPJ history; almost 70% killed by Israel
- In record year, China, Israel, and Myanmar are world’s leading jailers of journalists
- Haiti, Israel most likely to let journalists’ murders go unpunished, CPJ 2024 impunity index shows
Reporter Without Borders
OPC Condemns Trump’s Ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico, Calls for Restoration of Press Access
NEW YORK, September 20, 2026 —The Overseas Press Club of America condemns the decision by President Trump to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, as announced Friday night on social media by the President. Over the weekend, journalists from those news organizations had their badges that give them access to the White House confiscated as they attempted to do their jobs.
The move is a dramatic assault on the protections that journalists have under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which federal courts upheld last year when the President attempted a similar White House ban of the Associated Press. The Constitution allows the press to cover the government without harassment, impinging on reasonable access or blocking certain journalists from coverage.
The OPC joins with other journalism organizations in demanding a quick resolution to the matter. The OPC calls on the President and administration officials to rethink this decision immediately and restore access to the White House to the affected news organizations.
Further, the OPC condemns all attempts to restrict news coverage around the world. In the United States with the constitutional protection of press freedom, this move is outrageous and cannot be allowed to stand.