# Political censorship: How governments are using national security laws to silence journalists

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/media-confidential-6620203/political-censorship-how-governments-are-using-national-security-laws-to-silence-journalists
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/media-confidential-6620203/political-censorship-how-governments-are-using-national-security-laws-to-silence-journalists.md
Podcast: [Media Confidential](https://stenobird.com/podcast/media-confidential-6620203)
Published: 2026-07-20T01:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/media-confidential/episodes/political-censorship-how-governments-are-using-national-secu
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/650ac5ba0434d000118468a9/e/6a5d418ca87bf583f49a761b/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/media-confidential-6620203/episodes/political-censorship-how-governments-are-using-national-security-laws-to-silence-journalists
Duration seconds: 2441

## Resource

In this episode of Media Confidential , Clothilde Redfern and Martin Bright join Alan Rusbridger and Lionel Barber to discuss how national security laws are increasingly being used to restrict journalism around the world. Clothilde is the director of the UK branch of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Martin Bright is a journalist and contributing editor of a new report by the charity which shows a growing pattern of governments expanding the meaning of “national security” to justify secrecy, surveillance, and sustained pressure on reporters.  The four discuss cases like that of Julian Assange and how legal action can have worrying impacts on journalists. They also talk about the line between legitimate security concerns and unnecessary suppression of reporting. To read the RSF report ‘National security as a weapon against journalism’, click here: https://rsf.org/en/new-rsf-report-national-security-weapon-against-journalism Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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## Transcript

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