Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021, the country’s media landscape has collapsed. Once home to a vibrant independent press that reached millions of readers, Afghanistan now faces a systematic campaign to silence dissent and turn journalism into a tool of state propaganda. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the Taliban has banned, suspended, or shuttered hundreds of independent outlets, while those that remain are tightly controlled. Authorities reject any news or opinion that deviates from their interpretation of “truth,” punishing even personal commentary as propaganda. Meanwhile, the Taliban has built a media empire that spreads its radical Islamist ideology across television, radio, newspapers, and digital platforms such as YouTube, X, and Telegram. Journalists as suspects and spies Afghan journalists face relentless intimidation. Taliban agents monitor everything posted online and detain those who violate their stringent interpretation of Sharia law, which bans music, soap

After more than two decades of intimidation, legal harassment, and violence, journalists in Bolivia fear that risks will intensify as the country heads toward a presidential election with no clear frontrunner. On August 17, Bolivians voted for the first time in 20 years without a single candidate from the once-dominant Movement for Socialism (MAS). The party, which governed for 14 years under Evo Morales, entered the race fractured after an economic crisis and years of authoritarian practices. Neither Mr. Morales nor current President, Luis Arce, appeared on the ballot. Preliminary results set the stage for a runoff on Oct. 19 between Rodrigo Paz Pereira and former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga. But for many journalists, the outcome matters less than whether the next government will make meaningful improvements in safety and press freedom. In interviews with the Committee to Protect Journalists during a fact-finding mission in June, reporters expressed deep distrust

Introduction This August marks three years since the arrest of Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora, founder of the now defunct elPeriódico, one of Central America’s most important investigative outlets. His imprisonment, under charges widely criticized as politically motivated, is emblematic of a broader pattern: a deliberate campaign to silence independent journalism in Guatemala. From mainstream media to rural radio, the government’s failure to protect, and in some cases its active persecution of, the press has become one of the greatest threats to Guatemala’s fragile democracy. The targeting of independent media Zamora’s arrest in July 2022, and the subsequent closure of elPeriódico in 2023, sent a chilling message across the Guatemalan press. Despite international outcry, including statements from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Human Rights Watch, the judicial process against Zamora has been marred by irregularities, lack of due process, and limited access to defense. As CPJ stated, “the