27 Jan 2026 | Americas, Europe and Central Asia, News, Switzerland, United States
The reverberations of Donald Trump’s incendiary speech at the World Economic Forum at Davos are still being felt, despite the US President’s retreat on the hostile purchase of Greenland and the role of British troops in Afghanistan. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney made the point in his own Davos speech last week that “the old order is not coming back.” He added: “We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy.”
Through all the bombast and narcissism of Trump’s words ran a thread of cold reality. As the Yale Cold War historian Odd Arne Westad wrote in the Financial Times at the weekend, Atlanticism as we know it is over and a new multipolar age is upon us. “The global system no longer has one centre. It has many, each of which will seek to project power in whatever way serves its interests”.
It has often been said of authoritarian leaders that we should listen carefully to what they say they plan to do, however wayward or capricious, to best prepare for what is to come. The worst of Trumpian expansionism may have been averted for the time being, but the US President has made his imperial intentions for Greenland plain since his first term in office. His views on Nato have been equally clear from the outset.
The same is true for Trump’s views on free and independent journalism, which he despises. We’ve been writing about Trump’s threats to media freedom at Index since the beginning of his first term in office in 2017, but those concerned about media freedom and censorship in the US and the rest of the world would do well to go back and examine the section of the Davos speech where Trump talked about Ukraine. As is the case with many of his platform utterances, it is not always evident which parts are scripted, and which improvised. But about halfway through, the US President shifted from criticism of Nato to a discussion of Ukraine and revisited his well-worn contention that Russia would never have invaded in 2021 if he had still been in office.
The words are not entirely coherent, but the message is clear enough: “It’s a war that should have never started, and it wouldn’t have started if the 2020 US presidential election weren’t rigged. It was a rigged election. Everybody now knows that. They found out. People will soon be prosecuted for what they did. It’s probably breaking news, but it should be. It was a rigged election. Can’t have rigged elections.”
He then outlined what amounts to his political doctrine: “You need strong borders, strong elections, and ideally a good press. I always say it – strong borders, strong elections, free, fair elections, and a fair media”.
The repetition for rhetorical emphasis is interesting, but so are some key omissions. Trump wants strong borders (he says it twice), and admits the need for free and fair, as well as strong elections (again he says this twice). But he can’t bring himself to use the words “strong” or “free” to describe the media. Instead, he merely wants a “good” press and a “fair media”.
In case anyone was in any doubt about what he meant by this, he went on to elaborate:
“The media is terrible. It’s very crooked. It’s very biased, terrible, but someday it’ll straighten out, because it’s losing all credibility. Think of it, when I went in, a landslide, a giant landslide – won all seven swing states, won the popular vote, won everything – and I only get negative press. That means that it has no credibility. And if they’re going to get credibility, they’re going to have to be fair. So, you need a fair press, but you also need those other elements, and I inherited a terrible, terrible situation.”
At this point, Trump returned to discuss geopolitics and his close relationship with Vladimir Putin.
But it’s too late. The authoritarian cat is out of the bag. The logic goes like this. Trump is the greatest president since George Washington. He won a landslide election, turned around the American economy, stopped migration and ended eight foreign conflicts. And yet, the media continued to criticise him. How can this be?
The words at the heart of the Davos speech are genuinely chilling for the future of the American media and worth repeating: “I only get negative press. That means that it has no credibility. And if they’re going to get credibility, they’re going to have to be fair.”
It is no surprise that the American networks now operate with extreme caution in the face of threats to remove their licences. Strict control of access to the White House and the Pentagon has led to further timidity among the press corps, while Trump’s deep pockets and mania for defamation suits have extended the chilling effect to every newsroom in the country.
But if there is a lesson to be drawn from the events of the past week, it is TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out). When European powers stood up for themselves and each other, Trump backed down. The American media should take a leaf out of their book.
9 Dec 2025 | Afghanistan, Campaigns, El Salvador, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Israel, News, Russia, Tanzania, Turkey, Tyrant of the Year, United States
At the end of every year, Index on Censorship launches a campaign to focus attention on human rights defenders, dissidents, artists and journalists who have been in the news headlines because their freedom of expression has been suppressed during the past twelve months. As well as this we focus on the authoritarian leaders who have been silencing their opponents.
This year we see the return of an old favourite.
Jemimah Steinfeld, CEO of Index on Censorship, said, "After a couple of years’ rest, Tyrant of the Year is back. We’re reviving our most popular end-of-year campaign at a moment when leaders from around the world seem ever more determined to silence criticism. In the spirit of the satirists we so often champion in the pages of Index, we’re leaning in and poking fun at these leaders. After all, thin-skinned officials loathe mockery because, as Mark Twain said, “Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand". But let’s be clear: Tyrant of the Year isn’t about downplaying the real harm caused by the actions that put them on the list. The reality is stark: the world is getting worse for free expression, and some countries now featured were unthinkable additions only a few years ago."
She added: "A note on the list too: it highlights those who have escalated attacks on free expression this year, not necessarily the world’s absolute worst offenders (that grim crown is hard to pry from the likes of Xi Jinping, Nicolás Maduro, Isaias Afwerki, Aliaksandr Lukashenka or Kim Jong Un). We’ve chosen people whose actions in 2025 have delivered fresh shocks, sudden crackdowns or moved a region further away from pluralism and respect for free speech."
The polls are now open for the title of 2025 Tyrant of the Year and we are focusing on 10 leaders from around the globe who have done more during the past 12 months than others to win this dubious accolade. Previous winners of the Tyrant of the Year have been Andrés Manuel López Obrador from Mexico and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey.
The ten contenders for Tyrant of the Year 2025 are (in alphabetical order by country). Click on the links to find out whay they have made our shortlist:
- Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada, Afghanistan
- Nayib Armando Bukele, El Salvador
- John Lee, Hong Kong
- Narendra Modi, India
- Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran
- Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel
- Vladimir Putin, Russia
- Samia Suluhu Hassan, Tanzania
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey
- Donald Trump, USA
The vote for Tyrant of the Year 2025 is now closed. The winner will be announced shortly.
10 Oct 2025 | Africa, Americas, Asia and Pacific, Australia, Madagascar, Middle East and North Africa, News, Saudi Arabia, United States
Bombarded with news from all angles every day, important stories can easily pass us by. To help you cut through the noise, every Friday Index publishes a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression. This week, we look at social media restrictions in Afghanistan and the indictment of Letitia James.
Afghanistan
Taliban sources have confirmed that new restrictions on social media platforms in Afghanistan this week are intentional.
Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat are among platforms facing disruption, according to global internet monitor NetBlocks, who also reported another internet outage in Kandahar province.
Last week saw a total telecommunications outage across Afghanistan, which Taliban officials told journalists was caused by old fibre optic cables that needed to be replaced. With this somehow causing a country-wide blackout of both internet and phone services.
USA
New York’s Attorney General Letitia James has been indicted on charges of fraud as part of a wider push by President Donald Trump to use the Justice Department as a weapon against his political enemies.
In 2022 in her position as Attorney General, James had filed a civil lawsuit against the Trump Organisation, as well as aiding in a three-year criminal investigation into Trump’s New York business dealings that led to a now overturned $500 million fraud ruling.
In order to prosecute James and also the former head of the FBI James Comey who had investigated Russian interference in the 2016 elections (and was fired by Trump), the President installed his former personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan as interim US attorney for the eastern district of Virginia. This was after her predecessor refused to bring charges against people Trump had characterised as enemies.
In September before these prosecutions started, Trump posted to Truth Social a message he later admitted was intended as a private memo to Attorney General Pam Bondi stating: “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Comey this week pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to congress.
Australia
Canberra, Australia, 9 October, whistleblower David McBride, who was jailed for leaking documents that alleged Australian Special forces had killed innocent people in Afghanistan, had an application rejected to have his case heard by Australia’s High Court.
This is the latest in an ongoing battle to have his sentencing overturned.
During the original trial, the Australian Government moved to prevent McBride from seeking protection under Australia’s whistleblower laws by blocking expert witnesses from speaking, citing “public interest immunity laws”.
The former military lawyer-turned whistleblower was convicted of three charges last year and sentenced to five years and eight months in prison for the theft of classified documents and for passing the documents to journalists at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
The documents formed the bases of an ABC investigation titled ‘The Afghan Files’ that claimed Australian Special forces units had committed war crimes whilst stationed in Afghanistan.
McBride is the only person imprisoned in relation to these crimes.
Madagascar
Even following the dissolution of his government, embattled President Andry Rajoelina of Madagascar refuses to step down in the face of large scale youth-led protests.
Rajoelina said at a press conference: "I swear that if power cuts persist in the capital within a year, I will resign.”
Protesters from group Gen-Z Mada were not convinced, calling for more protests to take place on Thursday, during which rubber bullets and tear gas were used to disperse demonstrators. They also called for a general strike as a display that they reject the President’s promises.
Saudi Arabia
Human Rights Watch have told comedians who performed at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy festival that they “cannot accept” money that originated from the government of Saudi Arabia.
The statement comes as comedians who performed at the festival scramble to get public opinion back on their side.
Bill Burr, Louis C.K. and Omid Djalili have all attempted to spin their participation as positive, whilst comics Aziz Ansari and Jessica Kirson offered to donate their fees in a futile effort to buy back public opinion.
3 Oct 2025 | Afghanistan, Africa, Americas, Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Madagascar, News, United Kingdom, United States
Bombarded with news from all angles every day, important stories can easily pass us by. To help you cut through the noise, every Friday Index publishes a weekly news roundup of some of the key stories covering censorship and free expression. This week, we look at the British government’s demands for data access and the Gen Z protest movement in Madagascar.
Labour asks for backdoor to Apple data
The government has renewed efforts to demand backdoor access to encrypted user data on Apple devices.
Ministers first asked for it in February this year, and Apple responded by pulling its Advanced Data Protection (ADP) tool from all UK users meaning no more secure end-to-end encryption of data stored on the iCloud platform.
This incurred Trump’s anger and he accused the British government of behaving like China. It seemed that the UK government then capitulated to US demands to drop the order with US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stating on X; “the UK has agreed to drop its mandate for Apple to provide a ‘back door’ that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens and encroached on our civil liberties”’
The new order is believed to be more specifically geared towards the data of UK citizens and according to the Financial Times, “two senior British government figures said the US administration was no longer leaning on the UK government to rescind the order.”
The debate over encryption goes back to 2017, when encrypted messaging service WhatsApp was used just before an attack on Westminster, prompting then Home Secretary Amber Rudd to demand security services have backdoor access when given a warrant.
The UK has a history of levelling accusations against services that allow for end-to-end encryption. In 2022 parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee stated that terrorists were using encrypted messaging apps to communicate, and in 2020 England's children's commissioner released a report stating that end-to-end encryption puts children at risk.
Madagascar government dissolved after Gen Z protests
Gen Z protesters have risen up against the sitting president of Madagascar in the latest in a series of youth demonstrations around the world.
The protests were coordinated by the online Gen Z Mada movement against President Andry Rajoelina who took power during a 2009 coup. Aged 34 then, he became Africa’s youngest president. He is now in his third presidential term and aged 51.
In response Rajoelina has dissolved his government, however protesters argue that this is not enough.
The demonstrations began last week leading to a crackdown by security forces. The subsequent violence has now resulted in the deaths of at least 22 people and more than 100 injured according to the UN.
Jane Fonda relaunches Committee for the First Amendment
Actor Jane Fonda has relaunched the Committee for the First Amendment, a group formed in 1947 to fight back against McCarthyism.
The organisation at the time supported screenwriters, actors and filmmakers who had been accused of being communists and had been added to the Hollywood blacklist. Fonda is the daughter of original committee member Henry Fonda.
In a letter shared with CNN Jane Fonda wrote: “I’m 87 years old. I’ve seen war, repression, protest, and backlash. I’ve been celebrated, and I’ve been branded an enemy of the state. But I can tell you this: this is the most frightening moment of my life.
“When I feel scared, I look to history. I wish there were a secret playbook with all the answers – but there never has been. That’s why I believe the time is now to relaunch the Committee for the First Amendment – the same committee my father, Henry Fonda, joined with other artists during the McCarthy era, when so many were silenced or even imprisoned simply for their words and their craft.”
Taliban imposes nationwide communications blackout
The Taliban initiated a nationwide internet shutdown in Afghanistan this week, claiming it was just “maintenance”.
The blackout began on Monday and lasted for 48 hours, but internet access was reinstated following disruption to businesses.
Mobile phone connections were also affected in the week causing a complete shutdown of the country’s communications.
Taliban officials told journalists on Wednesday there hadn’t been a nationwide internet ban, however there is a history of such moves in the country, with broadband internet services being cut in over ten provinces last month, including in Herat.
Voice of America stops broadcasting during US government shutdown
Voice of America (VOA), founded in 1942 as an American international broadcaster, has halted all broadcasts.
This has never happened before because the federal news agency has, up until now, been considered to be essential to national security.
The VOA which broadcasts to authoritarian states has been the subject of criticism by President Trump and his administration. In March of this year Trump signed an executive order that targeted VOA, alongside Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Liberty, ordering that they “be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law”.
The news comes only days after a judge ordered the government to reverse its firing of more than 500 staff members at the broadcaster, firings that the judge alleged would affect its ability to continue worldwide broadcasting as required by Congress.
