cpj.org

CPJ.org is the website of the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide and defends the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal. It is a resource for anyone who wants current press freedom news, documented data on attacks against journalists, or emergency help and safety guidance for journalists under threat.

What the site covers

The homepage frames the organization's mission with the line "Press freedom is your freedom." From there, the site serves three main purposes:

• Press freedom news — reporting on violations and attacks against journalists and media workers around the world.
• Documented data — CPJ researchers track attacks throughout the year, which the site describes as "a rigorous and trusted source of information on the state of press freedom worldwide."
• Statements and letters — organizational condemnations and joint appeals, such as letters with partners on unresolved journalist murders or government seizures of media outlets.

The data on the homepage

CPJ publishes headline counts that give a quick picture of the state of press freedom. As displayed on the site:

The site links these figures to its fuller datasets, so the homepage numbers work as an entry point rather than the complete record.

What CPJ does: three work areas

The organization describes its work in three categories:

Advocacy

CPJ denounces press freedom violations and engages with governments, multilateral institutions, and other coalitions to defend journalists under attack.

Awareness

Researchers rigorously document attacks on the press, which the site says helps "journalists enduring those attacks to remain in the public eye."

Assistance

CPJ supports journalists through timely safety information and emergency assistance covering physical, digital, and legal issues.

Who the site is for

• Journalists facing threats — the site offers a "Get Help" path for emergency assistance or safety advice.
• Researchers and students — the documented attack data supports study of press freedom trends.
• General readers — the news and statements sections explain current violations and who is responding.

How to use it

Start with the news feed for current cases, use the data pages when you need figures on killings, imprisonment, or disappearances, and use the Get Help entry if you or a colleague needs emergency assistance or safety advice. The site also accepts donations, which it says support U.S.-based journalists who need resources to continue critical reporting.

CPJ's own framing is the clearest summary of its purpose: it is an independent, nonprofit organization defending the right of journalists to report safely and without fear of reprisal.

CPJ offers three forms of direct support to journalists under threat: timely safety information, emergency assistance, and advocacy when violations occur. According to CPJ's own description, its assistance work covers "an array of physical, digital, and legal issues," and the site maintains a dedicated entry point labeled "Need emergency assistance or safety advice? Get Help." The practical condition to keep in mind is that CPJ is an independent nonprofit focused on press freedom rather than a general emergency service — its tools are built for journalists and media workers facing reprisals, attacks, or legal pressure connected to their reporting.

What the assistance actually covers

CPJ groups its work into three pillars, each with a different function for a journalist in trouble:

The distinction matters: assistance is the direct-support channel, while advocacy and awareness are the mechanisms that raise the cost for perpetrators. A journalist deciding where to start should go to the assistance route first if the need is urgent.

How to use the "Get Help" entry point

1. Identify your problem category. CPJ frames assistance around physical, digital, and legal issues. Before reaching out, note which applies — for example, a physical assault by state or non-state actors, spyware or account compromise, or detention and legal proceedings.
2. Go to the help entry on cpj.org. The homepage carries the prompt "Need emergency assistance or safety advice? Get Help," which leads to CPJ's assistance resources.
3. Expect safety information first, case engagement second. CPJ describes its assistance as including "timely safety information" alongside emergency assistance. In practice this means some needs are met with guidance and protocols, while others are escalated.
4. Verify what happened to you is documented. CPJ's researchers record attacks throughout the year as "a rigorous and trusted source of information on the state of press freedom worldwide." If your case is part of a pattern, that documentation can support later advocacy.

The expected result is not a substitute for local emergency services or a lawyer — it is specialized, press-freedom-oriented support and advice from an organization whose mandate is defending the right of journalists to report safely.

What the site's own data tells you about scope

CPJ publishes running counts that show the scale of the problem it responds to. As of the site's current figures:

• 130 journalists and media workers killed in 2025
• 340 imprisoned as of December 1, 2025
• 85 missing as of December 1, 2025

These numbers are useful for a journalist assessing risk: they indicate that CPJ's assistance work is calibrated to lethal violence, detention, and disappearance, not only to harassment. The site also maintains an "Explore our data" path for those who want the underlying records.

Where the limits are

CPJ is explicitly "an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide." That framing sets the boundaries of what to expect:

• It is not a government or intergovernmental body. Its leverage comes from documentation, public statements, and coalition work with governments and multilateral institutions — not from legal authority.
• Its focus is press freedom violations. A journalist facing an unrelated personal emergency should use local services; CPJ's relevance begins where the harm connects to reporting.
• Assistance is described in general terms. The site does not publish a menu of specific grants, legal representation arrangements, or response times, so a journalist should treat the "Get Help" route as the way to learn what applies to their situation rather than assume a particular outcome.

A concrete example of the pattern

The site's featured case — American photojournalist Heidi Levine attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank — illustrates how the three pillars combine. CPJ's regional director, Sara Qudah, tied the assault to a broader accountability failure: "These repeated assaults are taking place in an environment where perpetrators have little reason to fear consequences. Israel's failure to ensure accountability is emboldening those who attack journalists, while the international community's continued silence sends a dangerous message that these violations can continue unchecked." For a journalist in a similar position, the takeaway is that CPJ's response pairs immediate support with public pressure aimed at the duty-bearer — the state that should be prosecuting the attack.

Deciding whether to contact CPJ

Contact CPJ's help channel if your safety problem arises from your journalism and you need safety guidance, emergency assistance, or a record of the violation. Rely on local emergency services and qualified local counsel for immediate physical danger or formal legal defense. If your goal is to have an attack publicly condemned and counted, CPJ's advocacy and documentation functions are the relevant ones — and the running totals of killed, imprisoned, and missing journalists show that this documentation is maintained continuously rather than case by case.

You can support CPJ in three practical ways: donate through the site's donation link, amplify its documented data and advocacy statements, or use and share its safety and emergency resources with journalists who need them. CPJ describes itself as an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide and defends the right of journalists to report safely and without fear of reprisal, so outside support is central to what it does.

Donate

CPJ's homepage includes a direct call to action: "U.S.-based journalists urgently need resources to continue their critical reporting. Donate now." That is the clearest, most direct support route the site offers.

• What the money supports: The donation prompt ties giving to resources for U.S.-based journalists continuing critical reporting. CPJ's broader work spans advocacy, documentation, and assistance.
• Who it's for: Anyone who wants to fund CPJ's operations rather than only read its output.
• What to check first: The site does not publish pricing or membership tiers in the available material, so review the donation page itself for current options, amounts, and any tax or receipt details before giving.

Amplify CPJ's Documentation and Advocacy

CPJ's researchers document attacks on journalists and media workers throughout the year and present the results as a rigorous, trusted source on the state of press freedom worldwide. Sharing that record is a low-cost way to support the mission.

Current figures displayed on the site give a sense of what there is to circulate:

CPJ also publishes advocacy statements and letters—for example, a letter marking the 9-year anniversary of Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder calling for full justice, a statement condemning Turkey's seizure of pro-opposition Halk TV, and a condemnation of the deportation of Brazilian journalist Rogério Tomaz Jr. from Argentina. Citing and sharing these items, along with the "2025 Killed Report" and "2025 Prison Census," keeps individual cases in the public eye—which is exactly the awareness role CPJ describes for its research.

Point Journalists to Safety and Emergency Help

CPJ supports journalists through timely safety information and emergency assistance covering physical, digital, and legal issues. If you know a reporter facing threats, arrest, or digital targeting, directing them to CPJ's "Get Help" entry point is a concrete form of support.

• Use it when: a journalist needs emergency assistance or safety advice, or is dealing with physical, digital, or legal risk.
• What to expect: the site routes visitors to a help request path rather than publishing case-specific guidance openly.
• What not to assume: response times, eligibility rules, and the scope of assistance are not specified in the available material—check the help page for current details.

Stay Informed and Engage

Following CPJ's press freedom news gives you the context to act when cases arise. Recent coverage on the site includes an attack on American photojournalist Heidi Levine by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, reporting on an Israeli ad-tech firm enabling spyware targeting of at least 45 Al Jazeera devices, and analysis of how mass surveillance from online advertising puts journalists at risk.

Reading and referencing this reporting—especially in discussions about accountability—supports CPJ's advocacy work, which engages governments, multilateral institutions, and other coalitions to defend journalists under attack.

A Quick Decision Guide

• Want to give money? Use the donation link on cpj.org and review the donation page for current options.
• Want to raise awareness? Share CPJ's data pages, reports, and case statements with attribution.
• Know a journalist at risk? Send them to CPJ's "Get Help" resource.
• Want to stay current? Follow CPJ's news and press freedom updates.

CPJ is a nonprofit that depends on external support, so each of these routes contributes to the same goal: keeping journalists safe and able to report.

CPJ documents attacks on journalists and media workers throughout the year, then publishes the results as running counts and annual datasets on cpj.org. Its researchers verify individual cases, classify them by type (killed, imprisoned, missing), and release aggregate figures such as "130 journalists and media workers killed in 2025," "340 imprisoned as of December 1, 2025," and "85 missing as of December 1, 2025." Those numbers are the site's most visible output and the basis for its claim to be "a rigorous and trusted source of information on the state of press freedom worldwide."

What CPJ counts

The site's data pages organize harms into distinct categories rather than one blended total:

• Killed — journalists and media workers killed in connection with their work, reported as an annual figure.
• Imprisoned — a point-in-time census, dated (e.g., "as of December 1, 2025"), not a yearly flow.
• Missing — also a dated snapshot.

Because the imprisoned and missing figures carry an "as of" date, they are stock measures: they describe how many people were held or unaccounted for on that day. The killed figure is a flow measure for the calendar year. Reading them as if they were the same kind of number will mislead you.

How the tracking works

CPJ describes its researchers as documenting attacks on journalists and media workers "throughout the year," providing "a rigorous and trusted source of information." In practice, that means the site pairs aggregate counts with individual case records and statements. The homepage mixes both layers: a news item on American photojournalist Heidi Levine attacked by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, alongside the 2025 totals. Case-level entries typically name the journalist, the circumstances, and a CPJ response — for example, regional director Sara Qudah's statement that "these repeated assaults are taking place in an environment where perpetrators have little reason to fear consequences."

The site also publishes themed reports and letters that draw on the same documentation, such as a report on an Israeli ad-tech firm enabling spyware targeting of at least 45 Al Jazeera devices, and a letter on the ninth anniversary of Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder.

Using the data responsibly

If you cite CPJ figures, keep three conditions in mind:

1. Check the date attached to each number. Imprisonment and missing counts are snapshots; they change as people are released or found.
2. Distinguish "killed in 2025" from cumulative totals. The annual figure is not a running historical total.
3. Go to the case record for specifics. The aggregate tells you scale; the individual entry tells you what happened and CPJ's stated position on it.

For anyone researching press freedom conditions, the practical entry point is the site's data section ("Explore our data"), which sits alongside its three program areas — advocacy, awareness, and assistance. The assistance arm offers safety information and emergency help for journalists facing physical, digital, or legal threats, which is separate from the statistics but drawn from the same pool of case knowledge.

CPJ advocates by publicly denouncing press freedom violations, engaging governments and multilateral institutions, and keeping attacks on journalists in the public eye through statements, letters, and documented data. This applies to journalists, newsrooms, and press freedom advocates who need to understand how the organization turns individual attacks into international pressure — and what it does and does not do.

The advocacy model: three connected levers

CPJ describes its work in three areas: Advocacy, Awareness, and Assistance. Advocacy is the lever most directly aimed at journalists under attack.

1. Public condemnation

CPJ denounces press freedom violations. When a journalist is attacked, detained, or killed, CPJ publishes statements that name the case and call for accountability. These statements are attributed to CPJ staff, including regional directors, and are often issued jointly with partner organizations.

The site's current coverage illustrates the pattern:

• A statement on the attack on American photojournalist Heidi Levine in the West Bank, quoting CPJ regional director Sara Qudah: "These repeated assaults are taking place in an environment where perpetrators have little reason to fear consequences."
• A joint letter marking the 9-year anniversary of Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder in Malta, calling for full justice.
• A joint condemnation of Turkish authorities seizing control of the pro-opposition outlet Halk TV.
• A condemnation of the deportation of Brazilian journalist Rogério Tomaz Jr. from Argentina.

The common thread: each statement identifies the violation, names the responsible authority, and frames the case as part of a wider accountability problem.

2. Engagement with governments and coalitions

Beyond publishing, CPJ engages with governments, multilateral institutions, and other coalitions to defend journalists under attack. This is the diplomatic layer of advocacy — raising cases directly with authorities and coordinating with partner organizations so that pressure comes from multiple directions rather than a single voice.

3. Documentation that keeps cases visible

CPJ's researchers document attacks on journalists and media workers throughout the year, which the organization describes as "a rigorous and trusted source of information on the state of press freedom worldwide." This documentation serves advocacy directly: it keeps journalists enduring attacks in the public eye and gives statements and engagements a factual foundation.

Current figures published on the site:

CPJ also publishes an annual prison census and a yearly killed report, and maintains an explorable data set.

How a single case moves through the process

A useful way to see the mechanism at work is to follow one case type — for example, a journalist detained by a national government:

1. Documentation. CPJ researchers record the detention, the journalist's identity, and the circumstances.
2. Public statement. CPJ issues a condemnation, often with partners, naming the case and calling for release or accountability.
3. Engagement. CPJ raises the case with the relevant government or multilateral body and coordinates with coalitions.
4. Sustained visibility. The case remains part of CPJ's published record and periodic reporting, so it does not drop out of public view.

The expected result is not that CPJ can compel a government to act — it cannot — but that the case carries international attention and a documented record that authorities must answer for.

What advocacy does not cover

Advocacy is distinct from CPJ's Assistance work, which provides journalists with timely safety information and emergency assistance covering physical, digital, and legal issues. If you or a colleague need immediate help rather than a public campaign, the site directs visitors to its "Get Help" channel for emergency assistance or safety advice.

CPJ is an independent, nonprofit organization. Its stated mission is to defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal — the advocacy work above is how that mission is carried out in practice.

When this model is the right fit

CPJ's advocacy approach suits cases where public pressure and international attention can shift behavior: attacks with identifiable perpetrators, detentions by authorities sensitive to international scrutiny, and patterns of violations that benefit from being documented across cases. It is less suited to situations requiring immediate operational support, which fall under assistance rather than advocacy.

For journalists and newsrooms, the practical takeaway is that CPJ's statements, letters, and data are both a record of attacks and a tool — cases that are documented and publicized are harder for perpetrators to ignore.