Top 10 Countries With the Most Media Censorship: Laws and Impacts

Censorship involves preventing the public from seeing media or information. Typically, authorities use their power to censor certain books, movies, images, or news reports. They could have many different justifications for doing this, such as blocking media deemed offensive or harmful. 

For instance, some governments may practice censorship by blocking fake news stories or banning social media accounts that spread misinformation. Many countries have laws that keep violent or pornographic content from being broadcast through publicly available media channels. However, censorship is also often used to suppress opposing political or cultural viewpoints. 

Some countries block journalists from making news reports and only allow biased stories that favor the ruling party. Authorities may limit internet access or restrict media outlets’ activities. This type of censorship can impact human rights because citizens of the country cannot get access to unbiased news and the people around the world cannot see what injustices or persecutions are really happening inside the country. 

Problematic censorship limits the media’s ability to transmit legitimate information and reporting. It usually includes internet restrictions, blocking citizens’ general access to information, and physically stopping journalists from investigating and publishing news stories. 

Global non-profit press freedom organization Reports Without Borders (officially known as Reporters sans frontières – RSF) compiles the World Press Freedom Index, which ranks countries based on factors like transparency, press independence, censorship, pluralism (the presence of different viewpoints in the media), and rights abuses. 

Here is a look at the 10 countries ranked lowest on RSF’s 2023 World Press Freedom Index.

The Arabian Peninsula country of Bahrain shut down the last independent media outlets in 2017 after cracking down on journalism following anti-government protests in 2011. All current TV and radio stations are overseen by the government’s Ministry of Information Affairs, with members of the country’s royal family owning all six of Bahrain’s daily newspapers.

Exiled journalists who try to report about the country using the internet have been charged with cybercrimes, and some of those who tried to report on the 2011 protests are still in prison, charged with supporting terrorism or other similar offenses.

Cuba does not allow privately owned media outlets. Though independent journalists can technically work in the Caribbean island nation, authorities closely monitor them and reserve the right to censor their work. Though some foreign journalists are able to obtain accreditation to work in the country, their movements can be restricted, and they could be expelled for unfavorable reporting. 

The government manages internet access across the island. Police can censor stories and use broad “public order” laws to detain and question bloggers and journalists, and they may do so to keep them from covering sensitive events.

Myanmar, formerly Burma, is a Southeast Asian country currently ruled by a military government. Its press freedoms improved during democratic rule between 2008 and 2021. However, a successful coup by army generals in 2021 led to increased censorship, especially for outlets reporting on the military’s human rights abuses. 

The authorities use broad laws to jail journalists for unfavorable reporting. Some are reportedly tortured or denied basic services in prison. Also, the government taxes internet and mobile phone services to make it more difficult for people to access outside reporting.

Eritrea outlawed independent media outlets when the current one-party government system was established in 2001. Journalists are not allowed to work in the country, and the country does not provide accreditations to foreigners. 

Journalists who have attempted to work in the country are arrested, with many held without charges. Exiled journalists run radio stations from outside the country. However, the government often attempts to jam the signals, even though the content is usually not political.

Syria has put strict controls on the media since a civil war began in 2011. The Syrian government’s official news agency, SANA, distributes pro-regime news and limits the activities of non-affiliated journalists. Independent journalists use social media to publish reporting, but recent cybercrime laws target these outlets with prosecution. 

Some Syrian media outlets operate in exile, or they work in the northern third of the country, which is currently controlled by various rebel groups who captured the area during the civil war.

This central Asian dictatorship not only bars unfavorable reporting inside the country, but also tries to keep citizens from accessing media from abroad. Journalists have been jailed or assassinated for producing content that casts the government in a negative light. Authorities have also been known to pressure the families of journalists. Even the sources exiled journalists use have been arrested for providing information.  

Some Turkmen media outlets produce content from overseas locations. However, the government tightly controls internet access and can fine or prosecute people who try to use VPNs or other means to get around internet blockades.

Iran’s constitution allows freedom of the press. However, amendments after the current theocratic government took power in the 1980s allow arrests and prosecution for breaching vague moral, religious, or false information laws. The courts generally support censorship, giving heavy sentences to journalists who aren’t overtly pro-regime. 

Dozens of journalists have been arrested in recent years. Some exiled media members have even been harassed or targeted by Iranian agents in other countries.

Vietnam opened its doors economically in the 1990s, but it still strictly controls the media within its borders. The government maintains partial ownership of all media outlets and excerpts editorial controls over radio, news, and TV. Several dozen journalists have been arrested and given prison sentences for reporting critical of the government.   

Many Vietnamese people get news from social media platforms like Facebook. The military has a cyber wing that monitors and responds to this activity, and recent internet-related laws require websites to store user data and provide it to authorities when requested.

China allows independent journalists to work in the country, but the government controls major media outlets. Reporters who want to get or maintain official accreditation need to download GPS-enabled apps that allow authorities to track their movements. 

Currently, the East Asian country has more journalists in prison than any other nation. They are detained and charged under a range of espionage, public order, national interest, and subversion laws. Some of these laws allow the government to detain them for months without charges or legal representation.

North Korea, one of the world’s most politically isolated countries, received the lowest press freedom score from RSF in 2023. The only news source for citizens is the government-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Journalists who report negative stories are imprisoned. The government even sentenced a South Korean journalist to death (in absentia) for negative stories about North Korea’s economic struggles. 

Some foreign news agencies are actually accredited to work in North Korea. However, their movements are closely monitored, to the point that they are unable to do any meaningful reporting. 

Even in countries with free press environments, it is important to find quality news sources that present unbiased reporting that delivers facts rather than fake news and unsupported opinions.