Press Freedom Report: March 27, 2025

United States

• Voice of America Foreign Bureaus Halt Operations
  Foreign bureaus operated by Voice of America and related agencies began suspending their work in light of administrative funding freezes. Journalists stationed in high-risk countries, including Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Sudan, have been instructed to cease field reporting. Some are now stranded abroad without institutional support. The shutdown of foreign operations not only threatens reporter safety but also deprives local audiences in authoritarian environments of one of the few remaining sources of uncensored news.

Turkey

• Mass Arrests After Media Coverage of Protests
  Turkish police detained at least a dozen journalists who were covering student-led protests in Istanbul and Ankara. Authorities accuse them of inciting unrest and violating public order laws. Independent news outlets argue the arrests are part of a broader crackdown on dissent, as several of the detained journalists were previously targeted for their reporting on government corruption and surveillance. Press associations warn this reflects a deepening criminalization of frontline reporting in Turkey.