<ul class="summary-list"><li>Maria Elena Ferral, a Mexican journalist, was struck by at least three bullets when leaving a notary office in March 2020.</li><li>Ferral was a prominent reporter known for her reporting on corruption, politics, and <keyword id="39494" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Crime">crime</keyword> in Veracruz, <keyword id="3746" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mexico">Mexico</keyword>. </li><li>Insider is covering Maria Elena Ferral's case as part of <a href="https://www.onefreepresscoalition.com/">The One Free Press Coalition</a>, which raises awareness of the world's persecuted journalists.</li></ul><p>A Mexican reporter was fatally shot in Veracruz, Mexico, on March 30, 2020, marking the first assassination of a media member in the country last year.</p><p>The killing was a grim example of the violent attacks journalists face worldwide. </p><p>Maria Elena Ferral was exiting a notary office in Papantla, Veracruz, when she was struck multiple times after two men riding on motorcycles fired at her, <a href="https://rsf.org/es/noticias/mexico-asesinan-en-el-estado-de-veracruz-la-periodista-maria-elena-ferral-hernandez">RSF reported</a>. She was transported to a hospital, where she later died, according to the report. </p><p>Local journalists protested on the streets of Veracruz, calling for justice following Ferral's death, <a href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/1650931/media">Arab News reported</a>. </p><p>Recognized for her coverage of crime and corruption, Ferral was a correspondent for Diario de Xalapa, a <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword>paper in Xalapa, Veracruz, and a co-founder of the news platform El Quinto Poder, according to <a href="https://www.onefreepresscoalition.com/list">One Free Press Coalition</a>. </p><p>Ferral also wrote a column for a Facebook page called La Polaca Totonaca. In one piece, just days before she died, she informed the public about the murders of mayoral candidates in Gutiérrez Zamora, Veracruz, according to the <a href="https://cpj.org/2020/04/mexican-reporter-maria-elena-ferral-shot-and-kille/">Committee to Protect Journalists</a> (CPJ).</p><p>The late reporter and her daughter even had to obtain security guards in 2016 from the <a href="https://twitter.com/CEAPP_V?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5Eprofile%3ACEAPP_V&amp;ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fceapp.org.mx%2Fcontacto%2Fo%2F">State Commission for the Attention and Protection of Journalist</a> in Veracruz. The guards were revoked the next year by the state's Secretary of Security without informing the commission, according to RSF. </p><p>Mexico has been established as an extremely dangerous hub for journalists, and as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52698127">BBC</a> reported, over 130 journalists have died in the country since 2000. According to One Free Press Coalition, at least five journalists died in the country last year. </p><p><em>Insider is covering Maria Elena Ferral's case as part of <a href="https://www.onefreepresscoalition.com/">The One Free Press Coalition</a>, which raises awareness of the world's persecuted journalists.</em></p>

A Mexican reporter was shot at least 3 times while getting into her car in 2020, a grim reminder of the dangers the press faces worldwide

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Glenn Greenwald has been charged with cybercrimes in Brazil after embarassing top Brazilian officials with his reporting.</li><li>Greenwald has published articles based on text messages that raise ethical and legal questions about powerful officials, including Brazil's justice minister. </li><li>The charges came as Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, has faced criticism from watchdogs over his authoritarian behavior and attacks on press freedoms. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>Glenn Greenwald, an American journalist famous for his central role in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/snowden-leaks-timeline-2016-9">publishing the Edward Snowden leaks</a>, has been charged for cybercrimes in Brazil, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/21/world/americas/glenn-greenwald-brazil-cybercrimes.html#click=https://t.co/1sIJ47Qj04">the New York Times reported on Tuesday</a>. </p><p>Greenwald has been at the heart of a <a href="https://apnews.com/0e998ebedbd64f6d868a3fa570ed1f6c">debate over press freedoms in Brazil</a> under the increasingly authoritarian government of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.</p><p>The US reporter, who has lived in Brazil for years and is married to a Brazilian congressman, in recent months has embarrassed powerful officials in Brazil by <a href="https://theintercept.com/series/mensagens-lava-jato/">publishing articles based on leaked text messages</a>. The Intercept Brasil, which Greenwald co-founded, began publishing articles on the text messages last summer.</p><p>In July, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) <a href="https://cpj.org/2019/07/brazilian-president-bolsonaro-says-glenn-greenwald.php">condemned Bolsonaro</a>, who has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-decries-maduro-authoritarianism-in-venezuela-but-embraces-brazilian-strongman-bolsonaro-2019-1">a friendly relationship with US President Donald Trump</a>, for suggesting Greenwald could "do jail time" over the reporting. </p><p>"The latest statements from President Bolsonaro threatening Glenn Greenwald with jail time are an inappropriate and dangerous escalation of the Brazilian government's troubling response to The Intercept Brasil's reporting," CPJ Central and South America Program Coordinator Natalie Southwick said at the time. She added: "Brazilian authorities must respect journalists' constitutional right to do investigative reporting and hold power to account."</p><p>Brazilian prosecutors on Tuesday filed a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6663683-Criminal-indictment-of-Glenn-Greenwald.html/">criminal complaint</a> that accused Greenwald of being part of a "criminal organization" in relation to the hacking of cellphones belonging to prosecutors and other officials, per the Times.  Greenwald has said he received the text messages from an anonymous source last year, but the complaint alleges he went further than this and played a "clear role in facilitating the commission of a crime."</p><p>Among others, the text messages raised ethical and legal questions on Brazil's justice minister, Sergio Moro, in terms of his conduct as a federal judge during the corruption trial that jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.</p><p>In <a href="https://gizmodo.com/glenn-greenwald-charged-with-cybercrimes-after-embarras-1841131762">a statement provided to Gizmodo</a> on Tuesday, Greenwald said: "This denunciation - brought by the same prosecutor who just tried and failed to criminally prosecute the head of the Brazilian Bar Association for criticizing Minister Moro - is an obvious attempt to attack a free press in retaliation for the revelations we reported about Minister Moro and the Bolsonaro government."</p><p>"It is also on an attack on the Brazilian Supreme Court, which ruled in July that I am entitled to have my press freedom protected in response to other retaliatory attacks from Judge Moro, and even an attack on the findings of the Federal Police, which concluded explicitly after a comprehensive investigation that I committed no crimes and solely acted as a journalist," Greenwald added. </p><p>Greenwald said he will not be "intimidated by these tyrannical attempts to silence journalists."</p>

Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who broke the Snowden leaks, charged with cybercrimes in Brazil after publishing texts that embarrassed officials

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Mohammad Mosaed is an Iranian reporter who has twice been arrested by the government.</li><li>He fled <keyword id="41896" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Iran">Iran</keyword> in January, following a prison summons for a five year sentence for "spreading propaganda." </li><li>The <keyword id="676220" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Committee-to-Protect-Journalists">Committee to Protect Journalists</keyword> awarded him its 2020 <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">International</keyword> <keyword id="949989" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="press-freedom">Press Freedom</keyword> Award.</li></ul><p>Mohammad Mosaed, an Iranian freelance journalist who has twice been arrested by the government for his investigative reporting and criticism of Iranian officials, was detained by Turkish border officials earlier this year after fleeing Iran following a prison summons. </p><p>In January, Mosaed fled the country after he was summoned to begin a nearly five-year prison sentence. He told the Committee to Protect Journalists that he was <a href="https://cpj.org/2021/01/turkish-authorities-must-halt-deportation-of-iranian-journalist-mohammad-mosaed-cpj-2020-awardee/">detained</a> by police at the Turkish border and feared he would be deported back to Iran. <a href="https://www.onefreepresscoalition.com/list">One Free Press Coalition reported</a> that Turkish officials have promised Mosaed's lawyer he won't face deportation.</p><p>Mosaed worked as a reporter for the Shargh Daily newspaper until July of 2019 when he was reportedly pressured to resign by allies of Iran's Minister of Labor, whom Mosaed had accused of corruption in his reporting.</p><p>In November 2019, Mosaed was <a href="https://cpj.org/2019/11/iranian-authorities-arrest-journalist-mohammad-mos/">arrested</a> for the first time after he posted two tweets during an internet blackout in the country. According to CPJ, he tweeted "Hello Free World," and said he was accessing the internet by using "42 different proxies." He also tweeted his congratulations to fellow Iranians who had found a way to use the internet during the blackout, which was implemented by the government following protests over high gas prices in the country. </p><p>Mosaed's account was suspended days later.</p><p>He was eventually released but was <a href="https://cpj.org/2020/02/iranian-authorities-detain-journalist-mohammad-mos/">arrested again</a> in February 2020, when intelligence agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps interrogated him over social media <a href="https://www.insider.com/iran-arrests-journalist-covornavirus-criticism-questions-data-mohammad-mosaed-2020-4">posts he had made criticizing the government</a>, as Insider previously reported. In his posts, he reportedly criticized the Iranian government for being unprepared to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak in the country and questioned why Iran's recent parliamentary elections had featured only hardliner candidates as options.</p><p>The officials forced him to delete his social media accounts, <a href="https://twitter.com/bbcpersian/status/1231304603574116353">Mosaed told the BBC</a>. He also told the outlet that he was ordered not to conduct any interviews with media outlets and was told his "social media activities can be examples of crimes."</p><p><a href="https://cpj.org/2020/09/mohammad-mosaed-cpj-2020-awardee-sentenced-to-more-than-4-years-in-jail-in-iran/">The charges against him</a> include "colluding against national security" and "spreading propaganda against the system." In September, Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced him to four years and nine months in prison, as well as a two-year ban on journalism and the use of communication devices.  </p><p>The Committee of Professional Journalists <a href="https://cpj.org/awards/mohammad-mosaed-iran/">awarded Mosaed</a> its 2020 International Press Freedom Award to "highlight the risks that he and other Iranian journalists face in their daily work, and to remind Iranian authorities that the world is watching."</p>

Iranian journalist, who won the International Press Freedom Award, was detained in Turkey after fleeing a nearly 5-year prison sentence

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>A journalism non-profit received a surge in donations following a mention from Meryl Streep during Sunday's broadcast of the 74th annual Golden Globes.</p><p>While accepting the <span>Cecil B. DeMille Award,</span>&#xa0;<span>Streep blasted President-elect Donald&#xa0;Trump for his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-sidesteps-hillary-clinton-says-hes-running-against-the-crooked-media-2016-8">contentious relationship with the media</a> and urged viewers&#xa0;to support a free press as journalists face dangerous assignments abroad. Streep did not mention Trump by name during her acceptance speech.</span></p><p><span>By mid-afternoon Monday, the Comittee to Protect Journalists&#xa0;had received about 1,000&#xa0;online donations totaling $60,000, according to a Monday afternoon <a href="https://twitter.com/Poynter/status/818577196428234752">tweet</a> from Poynter.</span></p><p><span>Streep specifically called out Trump for&#xa0;a 2015 incident in which&#xa0;he apparently <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-appears-to-be-mocking-the-physical-condition-of-a-reporter-during-a-south-carolina-rally-2015-11">mocked </a><span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-appears-to-be-mocking-the-physical-condition-of-a-reporter-during-a-south-carolina-rally-2015-11">New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski</a>, who is disabled.</span></span></p><p>"It kind of broke my heart when I saw it and I still can't get it out of my head because it wasn't in a movie. It was real life," Streep said.</p><p>"This instinct to humiliate when it's modeled by someone in the public platform by someone powerful it filters down into everybody's life. Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence."</p><p><span>Streep also took on Trump's hard-line immigration policies by highlighting&#xa0;</span><span>several foreign-born celebrities in attendance.</span></p><p><span>"Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners." She said.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>"If you kick them all out, you'll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not art."</span></p><p>Streep's appeal to the program's&#xa0;20 million viewers was apparently a welcome&#xa0;surprise for the CPJ.</p><p><span>"I don't think any of us were expecting such a ringing endorsement for our work and the right of journalists to report the <keyword id="6355005" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="News">news</keyword>, which is our mission," said Courtney Radsch, advocacy director at CPJ told <a href="http://www.poynter.org/2017/committee-to-protect-journalists-saw-a-spike-in-donations-after-meryl-streeps-speech/444693/">Poynter in an interview</a>.</span></p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kerry-explains-us-abstained-un-resolution-israel-two-state-palestine-gaza-strip-netanyahu-2016-12">'Friends need to tell each other the hard truths': Kerry explains why the US abstained from the UN resolution on Israel</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="c4YWFtODE6pT1opCN8Dcts97FeN60wOr" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Journalism non-profit receives $60,000 in donations after shout-out from Meryl Streep

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A former lawyer and citizen journalist was detained after live streaming videos from <keyword id="208994" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Wuhan">Wuhan</keyword>, <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>, that were critical of the Chinese government, according to the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3084882/chinese-citizen-journalist-detained-after-live-streaming">South China Morning Post</a>. </li><li>Zhang Zhan had been blogging about life in Wuhan on social media platforms like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsNKkvZGMURFmYkfhYa2HOQ">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/consultorzhang">Twitter</a> since February.</li><li>According to the report, the 37-year-old was accused by authorities of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and was arrested on May 15.</li><li>According to SCMP, Zhang is the fourth citizen journalist known to have gone missing after reporting on activities in Wuhan. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>A former lawyer and citizen journalist was detained after live streaming videos from Wuhan, China, that were critical of the Chinese government, according to the <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3084882/chinese-citizen-journalist-detained-after-live-streaming">South China Morning Post</a>. </p><p>Zhang Zhan's friends told SCMP that her family had received confirmation on Friday that she was being held at a detention center in Shanghai. According to the report, the 37-year-old was accused by authorities of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble." </p><p>Zhang had been blogging about her daily life on social media platforms like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsNKkvZGMURFmYkfhYa2HOQ">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/consultorzhang">Twitter</a>, which are banned in China. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-buu3nBhAc">Her latest video</a>, posted on May 13, criticized Chinese authorities' attempts to contain the virus. </p><p>According to SCMP, Zhang had been living in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus had first emerged, since February 1. Zhang was in Wuhan while it was placed under lockdown for nearly three months as the number of cases in mainland China spiked.</p><p>Zhang went missing on May 14, according to the <a href="https://cpj.org/2020/05/journalist-zhang-zhan-arrested-for-covering-covid-.php">Committee to Protect Journalists</a>, citing local reports. If convicted of a crime, she could face up to five years in prison, CPJ said. </p><p>According to SCMP, Zhang is the fourth citizen journalist known to have gone missing after reporting on activities in Wuhan. </p><p>A human rights lawyer and citizen journalist named <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chen-qiushi-journalist-missing-wuhan-whistleblower-coronavirus-forced-quarantine-2020-2">Chen Qiushi went missing in February</a> after he traveled to Wuhan in January to record the situation. Friends and family of the 34-year-old said he was <a href="https://twitter.com/chenqiushi404/status/1225483944273027076">forcibly quarantined</a> by police and he has not been seen since.</p><p>Twenty-five-year-old citizen journalist Li Zehua was detained in Wuhan on February 26 and live-streamed his encounter with police. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-52392762">He reappeared online in late April</a> — nearly two months after the incident — and said that he had spent two weeks "quarantined" in Wuhan as well as his home town. </p><p>Another journalist named Fang Bin was arrested by police in Wuhan on February 10. In one of his videos, he accused the government of "[covering] up the facts." His<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUvBNpkxrJo"> last video</a> was posted to his YouTube channel on February 9, and he has not been seen since. </p><p>And last week, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-lawyer-zhang-xuezhong-disappears-wechat-letter-scmp-2020-5">Chinese human rights lawyer Zhang Xuezhong was detained</a> after posting a letter on WeChat criticizing the government's response to <keyword id="8763838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="covid-19">COVID-19</keyword>. In his letter, seen by SCMP, Zhang said that the handling of the <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> pandemic was emblematic of deep-rooted issues within the country's leadership. According to SCMP, he was <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3083962/chinese-scholar-zhang-xuezhong-returns-home-after-questioning">released a day later</a>.</p><p>China is known for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-great-firewall-censorship-under-xi-jinping-2018-3">censoring criticism</a> of its policies, and dissenters have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-coronavirus-whistleblowers-speak-out-vanish-2020-2">been jailed or disappeared</a> after making complaints. A Wuhan doctor named <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-whistleblower-doctor-li-wenliang-in-critical-condition-2020-2">Li Wenliang</a> died of the coronavirus after being silenced by local police for trying to warn his peers of a possible virus outbreak. He died on February 7.</p><p>Chinese government censors <a href="https://qz.com/1846277/china-arrests-users-behind-github-coronavirus-memories-page/">are working in overdrive</a> to protect the party narrative its been drilling down on the country's response to the novel coronavirus, which originated in the city of Wuhan before spreading worldwide.</p><p>Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that the Chinese government was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-is-silencing-survivors-of-coronavirus-who-want-answers-nyt-2020-5">silencing coronavirus survivors who want answers</a> on what went wrong with the country's early coronavirus response. </p>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zhang-zhan-fourth-chinese-journalist-arrested-for-livestreaming-in-wuhan-2020-5">Business Insider</a>

A fourth Chinese citizen journalist was reportedly detained after live streaming what life was like in Wuhan at the height of the coronavirus outbreak

<ul class="summary-list"><li>At least 109 <keyword id="393576" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Reporters">reporters</keyword> covering US protests this year have been arrested as of late September, according to the <keyword id="676220" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Committee-to-Protect-Journalists">Committee to Protect Journalists</keyword>.</li><li>Among them is Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri.</li><li>Sahouri was pepper-sprayed at a protest by police.</li><li>Then she was charged with, and has since pleaded not guilty to, failure to disperse and interference with official acts. </li></ul><p><a href="https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-pepper-sprayed-arrested-amid-protests-des-moines/">Andrea Sahouri</a>, a reporter for the Des Moines Register, was covering a protest in May when police deployed tear gas, prompting protesters to run in the street.</p><p>When her boyfriend was stuck in the leg with a tear gas canister, Sahouri stopped to check on him.</p><p>"As I was seeing if his leg was OK, police came closer and we went around the corner and I was saying, 'I'm press. I'm press. I'm press,'" <a href="https://twitter.com/andreamsahouri/status/1267261446402052097?">Sahouri said in a video she posted to Twitter</a>. </p><p>A Des Moines police officer responded, "I didn't ask," before spraying her twice in the face with pepper spray, <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2020/10/05/charged-demonstration-des-moines-register-reporter-gets-alma-maters-support/3628017001/">The Des Moines Register reported. </a></p><p>Police then bound Sahouri's hands bound with zip ties, she said in the video. In the county court, she was then charged with — and has since pleaded not guilty to — failure to disperse and interference with official acts.</p><p>Des Moines police told the Register that Sahouri did not clearly identify herself as a journalist. Another Register journalist who was with Sahouri at the time of her arrest was not detained, <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2020/10/05/charged-demonstration-des-moines-register-reporter-gets-alma-maters-support/3628017001/">the paper said</a>.</p><p><a href="https://pressfreedomtracker.us/george-floyd-protests/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The US Freedom Tracker has verified more than 800 assaults, arrests, and other attacks</a> against the press during the anti-racism protests this year. </p><p>As of September 21, journalists have been arrested more than 109 times at the demonstrations, according to an emailed statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists.</p><p>While most of the journalists were released and charges were dropped, some — including Sahouri — continue to face prosecution. </p><p>"It is absurd that law enforcement officials around the country continue to pursue charges against journalists who were doing their jobs at the time they were arrested," CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna told Insider. "It's high time for authorities to drop this pursuit, which is frivolous and wasteful."</p><div type="image" title="Des Moines protest, Black Lives Matter, June 2020" height="3312" width="4416" msid="78558057" hostid="261"></div><p>The Iowa <keyword id="949989" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="press-freedom">Press Freedom</keyword> Council has urged the county prosecutor to drop the charges against her. Earlier this month, more than 250 students and staff from the Columbia University School of <keyword id="58267" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Journalism">Journalism</keyword>, where Sahouri obtained her master's degree, <a href="https://journalism.columbia.edu/system/files/content/sahouri-final.pdf">signed a letter</a> calling for the case to be dropped.</p><p>"Sahouri was present at the May 31 protest as a working journalist, not a protestor," the letter reads. "She was doing work clearly protected by the First Amendment, she identified herself as a journalist, others confirmed that information to police, and yet she remains charged with criminal misconduct – just for doing her job of newsgathering."</p><h2>Police say they don't have body-cam footage of the arrest</h2><p>The Des Moines Register has reported that <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2020/07/21/andrea-sahouri-reporter-arrested-covering-black-lives-matter-protest-judge-orders-bodycam-footage/5481493002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Polk County prosecutors and police refused to release video</a> of the incident, claiming that defendants in misdemeanor cases don't have the right to video through discovery. </p><p>When a judge ruled against that argument and ordered that the video be released, a police spokesman told the Register that the arresting officer didn't activate his body camera during her arrest, a violation of the city policy, the paper reported.</p><p>The day following Sahouri's arrest, another journalist was taken into custody at a different protest, the Register reported. A body camera was not activated at that time either. </p><p>That case, against freelance photojournalist Ted Nieters, was dismissed.</p><p>On June 2, a third consecutive day, a different Register reporter was filming protests that hadn't ended after the curfew. Reporter Katie Akin can be heard telling police more than a dozen times that she was a member of the press before one of them <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2020/10/05/charged-demonstration-des-moines-register-reporter-gets-alma-maters-support/3628017001/">sprays her with tear gas</a>.</p><p>Polk County Attorney John Sarcone has declined to comment on Sahouri's case publicly. </p><p>"We strongly disagree with how this matter has been characterized and will do our talking in the courtroom, which is the proper place to deal with this case. Have a good day," Sarcone said August 20 in a written statement to the Register.</p><p>Neither Sahouri nor her attorney immediately responded to Insider's request for comment.</p><p>Des Moines Register Executive Editor Carol Hunter asked Des Moines police for an internal review of the incident, and officials agreed to do so, according to the Register.</p><div type="image" title="Des Moines protest, Black Lives Matter, Iowa" height="3216" width="4289" msid="78558067" hostid="261"></div><p>As for Sahouri's case, Hunter said that the charges should be dismissed.</p><p>"Even if there were confusion at the scene about Andrea's role, police learned within minutes that Andrea was a Register reporter who was there covering the protest and police response," Des Moines Register Executive Editor Carol Hunter <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2020/10/05/charged-demonstration-des-moines-register-reporter-gets-alma-maters-support/3628017001/">said in a Register article</a>.</p><p>"No arrest should have been made in the first place. Since charges unfortunately were filed, that mistake should have been corrected by quickly dropping them," she added.</p><p><em>Insider is covering Askarov's case in conjunction with <a href="https://www.onefreepresscoalition.com/">The One Free Press Coalition,</a> which raises awareness of the world's persecuted journalists.</em></p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more: </li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/kyrgyzstan-reporter-azimzhan-askarov-final-appeal-after-9-years-prison-2020-5">A reporter in Kyrgyzstan has been in prison since 2010 after reporting on ethnic violence.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/james-risen-case-obama-journalism-press-freedom-2014-8">Why The Obama Administration Wanted This Journalist In Jail</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-reporter-held-for-544-days-by-iran-dismisses-trumps-foreign-policy-2019-3">The US journalist detained for 544 days in Iran warns: 'Trump's foreign policy is misguided and under-informed'</a></li></ul>

Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri is among at least 109 journalists arrested during US anti-racism protests this year

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Lefteris Pitarakis / Associated Press</span></p><p class="caption">People standing on a rooftop in Akcakale, Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, at the border with Syria, watch as in the background smoke billows from fires caused by Turkish bombardment in Tal Abyad, Syria, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2019. Turkey's official Anadolu <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> agency says Turkey-backed Syrian forces have advanced into the center of a Syrian border town, Tal Abyad, on the fifth day of the Turkey's military offensive against Kurdish fighters in Syria.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Video of attacks on civilians, apparently by Turkish-backed Syrian forces, including a Kurdish politician, have raised the spectre of war crimes in the border conflict between Turkey and Kurdish-led forces in Syria. </li><li>Two Syrian Kurdish journalists were killed by a Turkish air strike, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. </li><li>"Turkey could be deemed responsible as a State for violations committed by their affiliated armed groups, as long as Turkey exercises effective control over these groups, or the operations in the course of which those violations occurred," <a href="https://ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25145&amp;LangID=E">United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights</a> (UNOHCHR) stated in a report on Tuesday. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. </a></li></ul><p>In the week since Turkish forces began a ground and air assault on Kurdish forces in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/turkish-air-and-ground-strikes-syrian-border-2019-10">northeastern Syria</a>, reports of civilian killings and other human rights atrocities have emerged, including the alleged execution of a female Kurdish politician by Turkish-backed Syrian forces.</p><p>According to Rupert Colville, a spokesperson for the <a href="https://ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25145&amp;LangID=E">United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights</a> (UNOHCHR), Ahrar al-Sharqiya, a group fighting alongside Turkish forces, appears to have executed Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf, secretary general of the Kurdish Future Syria Party. Video of the attack, which the UN says took place on Oct. 12, circulated on social media.</p><p>The same day, the UNOHCHR reports, Ahrar al-Sharqiya apparently executed three Kurds, only one of whom was wearing a military uniform. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/12/world/middleeast/turkey-invasion-syria-kurds.html">New York Times</a> reports at least two killed. The UNOHCHR report also refers to an Oct. 13 incident in which at least four civilians, including two journalists, were killed by a Turkish airstrike while transiting the Tel-Tamor -Ras al-Ain Highway. The UNOHCHR stressed that it had not yet been able to confirm the report. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that two Syrian Kurdish journalists, Saad Ahmed and Mohammed Hussein Rasho, <a href="https://cpj.org/2019/10/second-syrian-kurdish-journalist-dies-of-wounds-su.php">were killed in the strike.</a>  Ahmed died of his wounds shortly after the strike, and Rasho reportedly died on Oct. 14.</p><p>Fighters with the so-called Syrian National Army called the Kurds "pigs" and "infidels," and in one video their forces shot a man whose arms were bound behind his back, <a href="https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/money-hatred-for-the-kurds-drives-turkey-s-syrian-fighters-1.603139">the Associated Press</a> reported. </p><p>"Under <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> human rights and international humanitarian law, summary executions are serious violations - and may amount to a war crime," the UNOHCHR report stresses.</p><p>"Turkey could be deemed responsible as a State for violations committed by their affiliated armed groups, as long as Turkey exercises effective control over these groups, or the operations in the course of which those violations occurred."</p><p>The UNOHCHR also reports that five medical facilities in Syria have been damaged by alleged Turkish air strikes  since the Turkish incursion occurred, including one belonging to the Kurdish Red Crescent. </p><p>As of Sunday, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/13/middleeast/syria-turkey-kurdish-politician-intl/index.html">CNN</a> reported that forces allied with the Turkish military had killed 11 civilians, including Khalaf. According to the UNOHCHR, Turkish authorities have claimed 18 civilian deaths in the fighting, including a 9-month-old infant, killed during cross-border mortar and sniper attacks by Kurdish forces. </p>

Trump's withdrawal from Kurdish region has opened the door to a new wave of war crimes

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 99-92, on Christmas day with the help of a late no-call.</strong></li><li><strong>Many felt the play looked like a clear foul by Kevin Durant on LeBron James.</strong></li><li><strong>After the game, James said that he believed he was fouled on the play, but added that the play was over now and there was nothing he could do.</strong></li><li><strong>Conversely, Durant defended the play, adding that those questioning the no-call should "Keep that s--- on Twitter."</strong></li></ul><p><br>In the third consecutive meeting between the Golden State Warriors and&#xa0;the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas day, the Warriors bested the Cavs with a 99-92 win in Oakland.</br></p><p>The back-and-forth game was tight throughout the matchup, but the play that will be remembered came in the closing seconds.</p><p>With the Cavaliers down 95-92 late in the fourth quarter, LeBron James drove to the hoop while being guarded by Kevin Durant. James was bumped by Durant on the floor, continued his drive, took to the air, and was once again hit as Durant attempted to keep pace.</p><p>No foul was called on the play and the ball went out of bounds to give the Warriors possession and ultimately, the win.</p><p>Unsurprisingly, the two stars had different reactions to the play after the game.</p><p>LeBron, who has struggled to get to the line this year in comparison to years past and <a href="http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2017/11/lebron_james_expresses_frustra.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has expressed frustration in a lack of calls this season</a>, was clearly disappointed, but ultimately accepted the call.</p><p><span>"He fouled me twice," James said, "But, whatever. What are you going to do about it?"</span></p><p><span>Conversely, Durant was fairly defensive about the play. When a reporter asked about the call, mentioning that the play had caused a bit of controversy on Twitter, Durant took a light-hearted shot at the internet warriors he imagined debating the call.</span></p><p><span>"It's probably the same play a bunch of those dudes on Twitter probably arguing about at 24 Hour Fitness that that wasn't a foul," Durant said. "They've been in that position before, but just not on Christmas at the Oracle Arena. So they know. They know if they ain't call it it's not a foul."</span></p><p><span>Closing his argument on the matter, Durant said simply, "Keep that s--- on Twitter."</span></p><p><span>You can watch Durant's comments below.</span></p><p>Durant knows a thing or two about Twitter arguments, having been <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/warriors-reactions-to-kevin-durant-twitter-fiasco-2017-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outed earlier this year as using burner accounts to defend himself anonymously online</a>, adding an extra bit of comedy to the already relatively absurd situation.</p><p>Ultimately, Monday's game was just another compelling regular season matchup between two top teams, and should Cleveland and Golden State meet again in the Finals this incident will be nothing more than another tidbit to look back on in the ongoing struggle between the teams.</p><div></div><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tom-brady-alex-guerrero-controversial-personal-trainer-interview-2017-12">How Tom Brady met his controversial personal trainer who was just banned from the Patriots' sideline</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div></hr>

'Keep that s--- on Twitter' - Kevin Durant dismisses controversy surrounding late no-call against LeBron

<p class="p1"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Alexei Nikolsky/RIA Novosti/Kremlin </span></p><p class="caption">Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a journalist's question during a televised news conference in Sochi January 19, 2014. </p></div><p></p></div></div>Press freedom in Russia is notoriously poor, but in the run-up to the Olympics, censorship <a href="http://www.cpj.org/reports/2014/01/media-suffer-winter-chill-in-coverage-of-sochi-oly.php">has become widespread and blatant,</a> especially when it comes to Sochi, according to a recent report by the Committee To Protect Journalists.</p>
<p class="p1">In one striking anecdote, CPJ tells what happened when a Sochi correspondent for a major Russian news agency filed three big stories.</p>
<p class="p1">The first dealt with the arrest of Sochi journalist Nikolai Yarst, in which it appears <a href="http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/251229/362248_en.html">law enforcement may have planted drugs on him</a> to secure an arrest. The second was about the malfunction of waterworks at a hastily built residential complex, where Sochi's evicted residents were being housed. The third was about the possibility of a major storm in Sochi. The journalist's Moscow editor nixed all three stories.</p>
<p class="p1">Here's what the editor allegedly told the correspondent:</p>
<p class="p2" style="padding-left: 30px;">You may have a storm, a twister, and even a 9-Richter-scale earthquake; still, we have to write that all skies are clear over Sochi.</p>
<p class="p2">That isn't even the most egregious example of press censorship in Russia right now. Anna Gritsevich, a former correspondent for the Sochi branch of All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, told CPJ that her work amounted to advertisement passed for as news. </p>
<p class="p3" style="padding-left: 30px;">Once I was assigned to report on the building of a parking lot next to a kindergarten. Parents were indignant and against the parking lot. However, I was forced to interview only specially prepared people, who all said it was 'so great that there will be a parking lot here.'</p>
<p class="p3">The government isn't limiting its censorship to Russian journalists either. According to the report, Norway's TV2 sent a two-person crew to report on the Olympics' impact on local residents at the end of October. In three days of reporting, they <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/05/us-russia-sochi-journalists-idUSBRE9A40XM20131105">were stopped by officers six times and detained three times</a>. Officers repeatedly questioned the team about their work and personal lives and refused to allow them to contact their embassy. The police tried to coerce the team into taking a drug test and threatened to jail them.</p>
<p class="p3">The Norwegian journalists say they believe the detentions were a pretext to extract information on their sources from their personal devices. One of the reporters, <span>Øystein Bogen, said he was positive that the SIM card for his iPhone had been copied, compromising his sources.</span></p>
<p class="p2">"Some of my contacts have reported that they have been interrogated and have had their houses searched after we left," Øystein Bogen told CPJ.</p>

You May Have A Storm, A Twister, And Even A 9-Richter-Scale Earthquake; Still, We Have To Write That All Skies Are Clear Over Sochi

<p><a class="cite"></a>CAIRO (Reuters) - Al Jazeera said Egyptian security forces arrested three of its journalists after the interior ministry accused the Qatar-based television channel of broadcasting illegally from a hotel suite together with a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.</p>
<p>Al Jazeera's offices in Cairo have been closed since July 3 when they were raided by security forces hours after the army ousted the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi from the presidency.</p>
<p>"State security received information that a member of the (Brotherhood) used two suites in a <a class="cite">Cairo</a> hotel to hold meetings with other members of the organization and turned the suites into a press center," the <a class="cite">Interior Ministry </a>said.</p>
<p>"(They) made live broadcasts of news that harms homeland security, spreading rumors and false news to <a class="cite">Qatar</a>'s Al Jazeera channel without permits."</p>
<p>A member of the Brotherhood and an Australian journalist who works for Al Jazeera were arrested and equipment was seized, including broadcast transmitters, the <a class="cite">Interior Ministry</a> said in a statement.</p>
<p>Al Jazeera said three journalists from its English news channel had been arrested, a correspondent, a producer and a cameraman.</p>
<p><a class="cite">Qatar</a> was a strong financial backer of the Brotherhood's rule. Its relationship with <a class="cite">Cairo</a> has deteriorated in recent months as it vehemently opposes the <a class="cite">army</a>'s overthrow of Mursi and the crackdown on his movement that has followed.</p>
<p>Since Mursi's ouster, <a class="cite">Egypt</a> has faced some of its worst violence in decades, which the government has blamed on Islamic militants. It declared the Brotherhood a terrorist group last week and has arrested thousands of its members, including Mursi.</p>
<p>U.S. Defense Secretary <a class="cite">Chuck Hagel</a> expressed concern about recent developments in <a class="cite">Egypt</a> in a call on Sunday to <a class="cite">Egyptian army</a> chief General <a class="cite">Abdel Fattah al-Sisi</a>, discussing the "balance between security and freedom."</p>
<p>The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Monday classified <a class="cite">Egypt</a> alongside <a class="cite">Syria</a> and <a class="cite">Iraq</a>as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists to operate in.</p>
<p>"Amid stark political polarization and related street violence, things deteriorated dramatically for journalists in <a class="cite">Egypt</a>, where six journalists were killed for their work in 2013," the CPJ said.</p>
<p><a class="cite">Egypt</a> is pushing through a political transition that could lead to presidential and parliamentary elections next year. A constitutional referendum is due to take place in mid-January.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Asma Alsharif, additional reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by John Stonestreet)</p>

3 Al Jazeera Journalists Detained In Egypt After Hotel Broadcast

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul><li><strong>Journalists at the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore were given free USB-powered fans as a gift.</strong></li><li><strong>Security experts say that anyone who plugs it in is at risk of getting hacked.&#xa0;</strong></li></ul><p>Journalists covering the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim-Jong Un in Singapore were given a fun gift bag that included&#xa0;a water bottle, a trial to The Straits Times newspaper, and a tourism guide to the island where it's taking place.</p><p>It also included a tiny fan that plugs into a mini-USB port or iPhone lightning port for power, according to tweets from the historic event.</p><p>It could be a nice gesture from the hosts. As Dutch journalist Harald Doornbos wrote in a tweet about the fan, "it is pretty hot here in Singapore," according to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-43128073">a translation from the BBC</a>.&#xa0;</p><p>But security experts around the web warned that the fan might not just be a way to stay cool. It could be a trojan horse designed to steal data from any journalist who plugged the fan into their USB drive.</p><p>Anything that plugs into a USB port is potentially a way for an attacker to get malicious software onto your computer. It's how the notorious Stuxnet worm <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/11/countdown-to-zero-day-stuxnet/">infected its targets,</a>&#xa0;and many big companies worried about information security forbid their employees from plugging anything into a USB port.&#xa0;&#xa0;</p><p>Twitter exploded with security experts telling journalists not to plug the fan in. It could install keylogger software, or hack their email, they warned:&#xa0;</p><p>North Korea has become a hacking superpower in recent years, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-north-koreas-hackers-became-dangerously-good-1524150416">according to The Wall Street Journal</a>. The country has been linked to attacks like the "<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-40297493">Wannacry</a>" ransomware. But North Korea has denied responsibility for the fan, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-43128073">according to the BBC</a>.</p><p>Of course, the USB fan could just be that - a way to stay cool at a hot summit. But it's probably not worth the risk to find out.&#xa0;</p><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/coat-city-streets-white-cliimate-change-2018-5">Here's why coating our streets white could help lower temperatures in the summer</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div></hr>

Journalists covering the Trump-Kim summit were given free USB fans - but security experts warn they may be trojan horses full of malware

<p>Benedict Cumberbatch is back as our favorite detective on British series "Sherlock."</p>
<p>Season 3 made its return to PBS in the US last Sunday. While we're waiting for another new episode, we have a few behind-the-scenes photos from the new season to hold you over until Sunday.</p>
<p>We first spotted these on <a href="http://www.benedictcumberbatch.co.uk/photos/sherlock-series-3-behind-the-scenes/" target="_blank">BenedictCumberbatch.co.uk</a>. All of these are photos tweeted out by cast and crew from the BBC series.</p>
<p>If you haven't seen the first episode yet, there are a few mini-spoilers in the photos below.</p>
<p>Enjoy!</p>
<p>Remember Sherlock's long shaggy look that wasn't shown in the episode? Actor Tomi May (who played Sherlock's torturer in the episode) <a href="https://twitter.com/tomi_may" target="_blank">tweeted</a> this photo with Mark Gatiss (Mycroft) and Cumberbatch after the episode first aired overseas.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="@tomi_may / Twitter" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/52dfe47feab8eabc56f3c4d1-960/sherlock benedict cumberbatch.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/tomi_may/status/418518122078175232">@tomi_may / Twitter</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Actress Louise Brealey, who plays Molly, <a href="https://twitter.com/louisebrealey/status/422522186927460352/photo/1" target="_blank">shared this photo</a> of herself and Cumberbatch looking less than serious at 221 Baker St.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="@louisebrealey / Twitter" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/52dfe70a6da811d60452c533-960/louise brealey sherlock.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/louisebrealey/status/422522186927460352/photo/1">@louisebrealey / Twitter</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman goofing off at script read through.<div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="@laurenoostveen / Twitter" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52dfe8666bb3f70b7dcdf273-960/benedict%20cumberbatch%20martin%20freeman.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/laurenoostveen/status/311128991899738114/photo/1">@laurenoostveen / Twitter</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Makeup artist and hair designer Claire Prtichard <a href="https://twitter.com/Claire_cpj/status/419950997260079104/photo/1" target="_blank">tweeted</a> out this photo of the two dropping gang signs ... or the Vulcan salute.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="@Claire_cpj / Twitter" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/52dfe9946da811fd0552c53e-960/martin-freeman-benedict-cumberbatch-sherlock.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/Claire_cpj/status/419950997260079104/photo/1">@Claire_cpj / Twitter</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Here's one of our favorites - Cumberbatch's Sherlock posing as his Khan character from "Star Trek Into Darkness" in front of the movie poster.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="@Claire_cpi / Twitter" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52dfea8fecad04fb7a52c533-960/sherlock%20into%20darkness.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/Claire_cpj/status/418561179389542400/photo/1">@Claire_cpi / Twitter</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Cinematographer Steve Lawes was seeing double <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveLawes/status/423520191755354112" target="_blank">in this photo</a>.<br /><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="@SteveLawes / Twitter" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52dfeee9eab8eabb75f3c4d2-960/sherlock big head.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/SteveLawes/status/423520191755354112">@SteveLawes / Twitter</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>Here's one of the crew <a href="https://twitter.com/BoThFiSh/status/425233518004695040" target="_blank">reviewing footage</a>. (Check out Freeman's mustache!)<div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="@BoThFiSh / Twitter" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/52dfee31eab8eaa373f3c4d2-960/sherlock%20season%203%20ep%201.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/BoThFiSh/status/425233518004695040">@BoThFiSh / Twitter</a></span></p></div><p></p></div>Production designer Arwel Jones <a href="https://twitter.com/arwelwjones/status/418896021318426624/photo/1" target="_blank">shared a photo</a>from the shocking kiss between Sherlock and Molly.<div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="@arweljones / Twitter" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/52dfec696bb3f76107cdf270-960/sherlock-molly.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/arwelwjones/status/418896021318426624/photo/1">@arweljones / Twitter</a></span></p></div><p></p></div>And one more showing how they made the tube car seen at the episode's end.<div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="@arweljones / Twitter" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/52dfed6869bedd1f7a099345-960/tube%20car%20sherlock.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span><a href="https://twitter.com/arwelwjones/status/418716273283842048/photo/1">@arweljones / Twitter</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></p>

9 Fantastic Behind-The-Scenes Images From 'Sherlock'  Season 3

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>A billionaire board member of the world's most powerful media company has been using a fraction of his enormous wealth to try and take down a news website critical of him, by anonymously funding lawsuits targeting the site.&#xa0;<p>Peter Thiel, the&#xa0;influential Silicon Valley investor and cofounder of PayPal&#xa0;<a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/peter-thief-speaks-about-gawker-lawsuit-hulk-hogan-2016-5">admitted this week</a>&#xa0;that he was the mystery financial backer funding wrestler Hulk Hogan's attempts to sue snarky news and gossip blog Gawker into oblivion over a sex tape.</p><p>The fiercely libertarian, Donald Trump-supporting billionaire sits on the board of Facebook - the most powerful media company in the world, where&#xa0;<a href="http://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/">more than a billion people</a> access and consume news on a daily basis.</p><p>Unsurprisingly, people are wondering whether this will&#xa0;have a chilling effect on the freedom of the press, and the ability of journalists to speak (sometimes disrespectfully) truth to power.</p><p>Thiel's ire with Gawker stems from an article outing him as&#xa0;gay (titled "<a href="http://gawker.com/335894/peter-thiel-is-totally-gay-people">Peter Thiel is totally gay, people</a>"), as well as others that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/business/dealbook/peter-thiel-tech-billionaire-reveals-secret-war-with-gawker.html?_r=1">he says</a> "ruined people's lives for no reason." (Disclosure: The author of the article, Owen Thomas, worked for Business Insider between 2012 and 2013.)</p><p>The investor frames&#xa0;himself as a defender of free speech and journalists. He gave $250,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists in 2008.&#xa0;<a href="https://cpj.org/about/CPJ.Annual.Report.3MB.pdf">At the time, he said that</a> "as a true believer in the critical importance of free speech, I am delighted to support CPJ's fight for the rights of journalists around the world."</p><p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/business/dealbook/peter-thiel-tech-billionaire-reveals-secret-war-with-gawker.html?_r=1">In an interview with the New York Times</a>&#xa0;he denied that his actions were contradictory. "I refuse to believe that journalism means massive privacy violations," he told Andrew Ross Sorkin. "I think much more highly of journalists than that. It's precisely because I respect journalists that I do not believe they are endangered by fighting back against Gawker."</p><p>Plenty of journalists think otherwise.</p><h2 class="embed-spacer">Peter Thiel is going "thermonuclear"</h2><p><a href="http://fusion.net/story/306927/peter-thiel-gawker-dangerous-blueprint/">Over at Fusion</a>, Felix Salmon pulls no punches, accusing Thiel of "reinventing the concept of philanthropy so as to include weapons-grade attacks on America's free press." (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/business/dealbook/peter-thiel-tech-billionaire-reveals-secret-war-with-gawker.html?_r=1">Speaking to The New York Times</a>, Thiel loftily framed his legal assault on Gawker as a form of philanthrophy. It is "one of my greater philanthropic things that I've done. I think of it in those terms.")&#xa0;</p><p>Thiel - by funding multiple lawsuits he has no real connection to - has dangerously changed the game, Salmon argues (emphasis ours):</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">If Thiel's strategy works against Gawker, it could be used by <em>any</em> billionaire against <em>any</em> media organization. Sheldon Adelson, Donald Trump, the list goes on and on. Up until now, they've mostly been content suing news organizations as plaintiffs, over stories which name them. But <strong>Thiel has shown them how to go thermonuclear: bankroll </strong><strong><em>other</em></strong><strong> lawsuits, as many as it takes, and bankrupt the news organization that way.</strong> Very few companies have the legal wherewithal to withstand such a barrage.</p><p>Josh Marshall, publisher of Talking Points Memo, <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-huge-huge-deal">argues that</a> "You may not like Gawker. They've published stories I would have been ashamed to publish. But if the extremely wealthy, under a veil secrecy, can destroy publications they want to silence, that's a far bigger threat to freedom of the press than most of the things we commonly worry about on that front."</p><p>Clara Jeffrey, editor-in-chief at Mother Jones (a non-profit news outlet <a href="http://www.motherjones.com/media/2015/10/mother-jones-vandersloot-melaleuca-lawsuit">that has also been sued by a billionaire</a>), is more succinct - labelling Thiel a "thin-skinned billionaire trying to bully press."</p><p><div></div></p><h2>The Facebook angle</h2><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Facebook is, unquestionably, the world's most powerful media company. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/19/opinion/the-real-bias-built-in-at-facebook.html">It makes decisions</a>&#xa0;about what 1.09 billion people see and how they access news on a daily basis. It is responsible for well over half of many news organisations' traffic.<p>It was recently accused of shutting out conservative stories and news outlets from its Trending Topics section. The social network has denied it was biased, <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/23/11754812/facebook-trending-topics-changes-political-bias-senate-inquiry">and says its investigation found no evidence</a> for the claims, arguing that it strives to be politically "neutral."</p><p>"Facebook already has absurd economic influence on [the] press," <a href="https://twitter.com/ClaraJeffery/status/735697846779842561">Mother Jones' Clara Jeffrey tweeted</a> - and now one of its board members is trying to muzzle it.</p><p>And now one of its CEO's key mentors is waging war on a single website to deliberately stop certain types of coverage: "It's less about revenge and more about specific deterrence," <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/business/dealbook/peter-thiel-tech-billionaire-reveals-secret-war-with-gawker.html?_r=1">Thiel told the New York Times</a>.</p><p>So far, Zuckerberg has stayed quiet on the issue. A&#xa0;Facebook spokesperson declined to comment when reached by Business Insider. But it looks like others on Facebook's board are sympathetic to Thiel: Marc Andreessen, a fellow board member, has retweeted&#xa0;<a href="https://twitter.com/elidourado/status/735638996525649920">multiple</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/wilshipley/status/735202193641332736">messages</a> in support of the PayPal cofounder.</p><p>One of Andreessen's colleagues, Benedict Evans, who is a partner at Andreessen's VC group, Andreessen Horowitz, retweeted a tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/cenedella/status/735651088414736385">praising</a> Thiel as a "hero, truly admirable work.")</p><p><div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">Thiel is within his legal rights to act as he does. But it sets a precedent: Will journalists dare scrutinise the ultra-wealthy if they can hire high-powered lawyers to scrutinise a&#xa0;publication's entire history for infractions to hang them? <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/rich-people-are-paying-lawyers-to-get-truthful-stories-deleted-from-the-internet-2016-3">Billionaires already routinely - and successfully - use the law to censor the press</a>, but their activities are usually limited to specific stories about them. Thiel's war on Gawker is an attempted takedown of the entire company.&#xa0;</p><p>A man once-removed from the controls of the most powerful publishing platform on the planet is exerting his enormous wealth to crush a news outlet he dislikes for personal reasons, while saying he supports the freedom of the press. And his colleagues are praising him for it.&#xa0;</p><p>He is also creating a blueprint for anyone with sufficient resources&#xa0;do likewise - for whatever reasons they desire.</p><p><div></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/turn-macbook-into-external-hard-drive-2016-5">How to turn your MacBook into an external hard drive by pressing one button</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="g1eWNtMzE6vll8lLcajligF8I9SJy_7O" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

You Searched For "cpj" and got 13 results

A Mexican reporter was shot at least 3 times while getting into her car in 2020, a grim reminder of the dangers the press faces worldwide

Taylor Ardrey

Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who broke the Snowden leaks, charged with cybercrimes in Brazil after publishing texts that embarrassed officials

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Iranian journalist, who won the International Press Freedom Award, was detained in Turkey after fleeing a nearly 5-year prison sentence

Erin Snodgrass

Journalism non-profit receives $60,000 in donations after shout-out from Meryl Streep

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A fourth Chinese citizen journalist was reportedly detained after live streaming what life was like in Wuhan at the height of the coronavirus outbreak

Rosie Perper

Des Moines Register reporter Andrea Sahouri is among at least 109 journalists arrested during US anti-racism protests this year

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Trump's withdrawal from Kurdish region has opened the door to a new wave of war crimes

Ellen Ioanes,Ellen Ioanes

'Keep that s--- on Twitter' - Kevin Durant dismisses controversy surrounding late no-call against LeBron

Tyler Lauletta

You May Have A Storm, A Twister, And Even A 9-Richter-Scale Earthquake; Still, We Have To Write That All Skies Are Clear Over Sochi

Harrison Jacobs

3 Al Jazeera Journalists Detained In Egypt After Hotel Broadcast

Reuters

Journalists covering the Trump-Kim summit were given free USB fans - but security experts warn they may be trojan horses full of malware

Kif Leswing

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Kirsten Acuna

This is what it looks like when a board member of Facebook launches 'weapons-grade attacks on America's free press'

Rob Price