MONROVIA: The 2022 Human Rights report released by the United States Department of State says although there have been wide expression of views, some journalists in Liberia practiced self-censorship to avoid harassment.
According to the US Human Rights report on Liberia, some media outlets avoided criticizing government officials due to fear of legal sanction and potential loss of government advertising, which, according to the Press Union, was the largest source of media revenue.
The report noted that other outlets avoided addressing sensitive human rights topics such as Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting.
The State Department indicated that, there were several reports that politicians and government agencies offered “transportation fees” to journalists to cover their events while some media outlets and broadcasters reportedly charged fees to publish articles or to speak on radio programs.
Touching on Libel/Slander Laws, the report said criminal libel and slander laws were repealed in 2019; nonetheless, government officials occasionally used the threat of civil defamation suits to intimidate critics or political opponents.
On the issue of Internet Freedom, the report noted that, the government did not restrict or disrupt access to the internet or censor online content, and there were no credible reports that the government monitored private online communications without appropriate legal authority.
The pointed out that, that, there were reports that government official’s threatened civil defamation suits in attempts to interfere with protected speech and intimidate content creators.
