The Washington Post’s Press Freedom Desk

NYT's lawyer: the sight of federal agents "on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects." washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/…

"You can't keep a democracy healthy without a healthy press." -Adam O'Neal, @PostOpinions Editor

In a newsroom, a "desk" is shorthand for a mission — people who show up for it every day. The Freedom Desk is for everyone who refuses to look away. Ksenia, who can't go home. Jamal, who didn't come home. And whoever writes the truth next, knowing what it might cost.#PressFreedom

We followed the imprisonment and systematic silencing of the Egyptian photojournalist @ShawkanZeid for over a decade. This week @wpfreedomdesk interviewed him as a free man. Please read it, share it and support the next chapter of his journey. s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?track…

“It’s not only about Egypt. It’s about the world,” Mahmoud “Shawkan” Abu Zeid tells @jrezaian. Read the formerly imprisoned Egyptian photojournalist’s full Q&A, his first interview since leaving Egypt: s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?track…

“It is national security for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’m grateful for every extra day that we’re around,” @hkfp’s @tomgrundy says. Read his full Q&A about media repression in Hong Kong: s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?track…

“This is the most egregious assault on the First Amendment by this agency so far, without a doubt,” the FCC’s lone Democrat @AGomezFCC says about the agency’s recent action against Disney. Read her full Q&A here: s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?track…

U.S.-Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin has left Kuwait and is safe, his international legal team said Saturday. "The family is breathing a huge sigh of relief now that they have finally been reunited," lawyers @caoilfhionnanna and Kate Gibson said in a statement.

Breaking: After more than 50 days in detention in Kuwait, US journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin was acquitted Thursday of all charges, per his international legal team @caoilfhionnanna

“In addition to Trump trying to go after particular media outlets, he also wants to scare Republicans into silence, and he is largely successful in doing that,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen told me. Read my full Q&A: s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?track…

"Conservative-leaning news organizations refused to get on board with the new press credentials when they were announced last year — Fox, NewsMax, many others. This was not an attack on the left. This was an attack on independent journalism." -David McCraw, @nytimes #pressfreedom

The New York Times’s lawyer David McCraw didn’t worry that suing the Pentagon over press access would make the newspaper more of a target: “I don’t think we could be more of a target.” Read the full Q&A with McCraw and @BoutrousTed: s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?track…

‘I had to tell my own story’: Why journalist @ByGeorgiaFort live-streamed her own arrest Read her full Q&A here: s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?track…

The regime in #Iran is already one of the worst press freedom offenders in the world. Authorities are using the war ad an excuse to clamp down even more. For more on press freedom and the #IranWar sign up for the @wpfreedomdesk newsletter: lnkd.in/eXJ4-ddX

NEW: A federal judge has reinstated 1,000 Voice of America employees, deeming the government's wind-down under Kari Lake illegal The judge called Lake's conduct a “Hallmark production in bad faith.” washingtonpost.com/business/2026/…

Scoop: Tehran threatened strikes against Turkmenistan last week unless it stopped an exiled news network from using one of its satellites to broadcast into Iran, according to the network. Read the full story in our @washingtonpost newsletter, w @jrezaian s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?track…

“I had to float in the tsunami to survive,” Guatemalan publisher José Zamora says of his time in prison. Read his full Q&A: s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?track…

Scoop: The Pentagon barred press photographers from briefings on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military conflict with Iran after they published photos of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that his staff deemed "unflattering." washingtonpost.com/business/2026/…

On Thursday at The Post’s Washington headquarters, @IgnatiusPost and @jrezaian will discuss the Iran conflict and what comes next. Sign up for the subscriber-only event: washingtonpost.com/washington-pos…

Reporting on Iran right now is like “looking through a keyhole,” @cnni’s @clarissaward tells @liamjscott. Read her full Q&A: s2.washingtonpost.com/camp-rw/?track…