The Independent Press Council Myanmar (IPCM) stated at a World Press Freedom Day online event on May 3 that press freedom in Myanmar continues to decline rapidly and remains under increasing repression.
The junta has restricted independent media operations, arrested, imprisoned, and intimidated journalists in various ways, with the situation worsening each year, the IPCM reported.
“The media profession is more dangerous than ever. Despite the challenges, media workers will continue to uphold the public’s right to access information and to know the truth,” said IPCM spokesperson U Toe Zaw Latt.
According to the World Press Freedom Index, Myanmar is ranked 166th out of 180 countries this year, effectively in the worst ‘red’ category, while Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said global press freedom has fallen by 25 percent.
The junta’s digital blockade of media agencies and online intimidation of journalists accounted for 64 percent of its crackdown activities, which notably surged during the junta-led election period.
Currently, there is a complete lack of press freedom in junta-controlled areas, while journalists also face restrictions in some resistance-controlled territories, a female journalist in Karenni State noted.
“In junta-held areas, journalists are under strict control. In some resistance-controlled areas, the media is also restricted—for example, being told not to report certain incidents out of concern that the junta could respond with shelling or airstrikes. Overall, press freedom is clearly declining these days,” she told KIC.
In 2026, the junta revoked the publishing licenses of four media agencies, accusing them of harming national security, the rule of law, and public peace.
Furthermore, the junta arrested and arbitrarily detained more than 200 journalists since the coup, with 18 still imprisoned today, according to IPCM’s data.
In response to the junta’s revocation of media publishing licenses, the IPCM said it does not recognize the regime’s authority in this matter and called for the immediate release of arbitrarily detained journalists, as well as an end to targeted repression of news agencies.
At the online event, a report was also presented on the challenges faced by news agencies due to digital restrictions.
In addition, the event included a forum discussing the right to information, the security situation for journalists, and media conditions in liberated (resistance-controlled) areas more than five years after the coup.
