In January 2026, Iran imposed a nationwide internet shutdown that left tens of millions with severely restricted access for close to three weeks, amid protests and a security crackdown. Weeks earlier, Uganda again cut access around elections, throttling platforms and blocking social media. At the same time, new leaks and investigations trace how commercial filtering and surveillance tools from Western and Chinese firms make these shutdowns sharper and harder to evade.
Mimeta's January 2026 analysis reveals an unprecedented crisis in artistic freedom: 21 artists killed in Iran's month-long crackdown, TikTok's ownership transfer enabling infrastructure-level censorship affecting 170M+ users, and 44 documented cases across 27 countries. The Middle East accounts for 43% of cases, with religious justifications in 36%. Despite this escalation, resistance persists, Kenya overturned film bans, Lebanese artists performed under threats, and Australian boycotts sparked institutional crisis.
South Korea's National Assembly passed a controversial anti-fake news law in December 2025 that allows punitive damages up to five times proven losses against media outlets and online content creators. UNESCO and press freedom groups have condemned the legislation for its vague definitions that could enable censorship. Notably absent from the debate: South Korea's arts sector, which mobilized thousands during the 2014-2017 artist blacklist scandal.
France's Collège de France cancelled a Palestine conference on November 8, 2025, following political pressure from Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste and advocacy groups. The November 7 Israel Philharmonic Orchestra concert in Paris was disrupted three times by protesters with smoke bombs, leading to four arrests. French artists responded with a December 9 charity concert raising €50,000 for Gaza. In January 2026, France indefinitely suspended its Pause asylum program for Gazan artists and scholars, leaving at least 21 recipients trapped despite having been awarded scholarships.
The Taliban detained two prominent theater artists in Herat Province on January 1, 2026, one day after authorities announced enforcement of a ban prohibiting media from broadcasting images of living beings. Gholam Farooq Sarkhosh and Firoz Ahmad Malaeka were summoned by the Taliban's Department for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice and subsequently detained after they criticized the restriction during a meeting with media representatives.
REPORT: SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom documents systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists, photographers, and artists in December 2025. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate recorded 99 violations across Palestinian territories, with 48 detention cases in the West Bank alone. Named arrests include writer Sari Arabi (Dec 25), Palestine TV reporter Ahmad Shawar and photographer Bashar Nazzal (Dec 4), and comedian Amer Zahr in Nazareth (Dec 27). Israeli police also raided Haifa's Nayruz Music Institute Christmas performance, arresting three participants.
Egyptian security agents arrested poet and activist Ahmed Douma without a warrant from his Cairo home on January 19, 2026, charging him with "disseminating false news" for posts about imprisoned activist Mohamed Adel. This marks at least the fifth case against Douma since his August 2023 presidential pardon, following nearly a decade in prison. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention previously deemed his detention arbitrary. Weeks before the arrest, he was prevented from boarding a flight to Lebanon.
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Iranian security forces killed at least 21 artists and cultural workers during a month-long crackdown on nationwide protests that began January 8, 2026. The deaths occurred across multiple cities as government forces opened fire on demonstrators, turning what Amnesty International called "the deadliest period of repression by the Iranian authorities in decades" into a systematic killing of photographers, musicians, actors, and filmmakers alongside thousands of other civilians.
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei made a quiet return to Beijing in mid-December 2025, his first visit since leaving China in 2015. The three-week trip, which he described as "smooth and pleasant," has raised questions about whether Chinese authorities are recalibrating their approach to high-profile critics. During his visit, Ai underwent nearly two hours of airport questioning before moving freely through the city. Days after returning, he told Reuters that "the West is not even in a position to indict China" on human rights.
Hong Kong street artist Chan King-fai was prosecuted three times between February 2023 and September 2025 for the same graffiti design combining Chinese characters for "freedom" with dollar signs. Despite claiming the art symbolized financial rather than political freedom, he faced 36 criminal damage charges discovered at different times. Meanwhile, overtly political graffiti and slogans have resulted in prison sentences of up to 14 months under Article 23 sedition laws, creating a stark contrast in how Hong Kong authorities prosecute street art.
Concerts, exhibitions and literary events across Central Asia are being cancelled after artists’ political statements or perceived alignment with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. From pro‑Kremlin musicians dropped in Tashkent to a Taiwanese exhibition halted in Almaty, cultural programming in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan is now defined by quiet pressures and sudden reversals.
In January 2026, Kenya’s Court of Appeal ruled that the 2018 ban on Wanuri Kahiu’s film Rafiki was unlawful and disproportionate. The judges found that depicting a same-sex relationship is not the same as promoting crime and said the film should, at most, receive an age-restricted rating. The ruling also struck down police powers to forcibly stop filming and to retain cut footage, narrowing state control over film production
The Tamil film Jana Nayagan, starring actor Thalapathy Vijay, remains without a release date after the Madras High Court on 27 January set aside an earlier order that would have granted it certification. The film was scheduled to open on 9 January 2026, but certification was withheld after a complaint raised concerns about Indian Army references and communal harmony. The controversy arrives as Vijay prepares to contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu elections with his new political party, Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam.
TikTok is facing accusations of suppressing content about federal immigration enforcement and a fatal shooting in Minneapolis, just days after the platform completed its transfer to majority American ownership. Users claim their videos about the January 24 killing of Alex Pretti received unusually low views or were marked "ineligible for recommendation" by the platform's algorithm. Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse and U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents during an immigration
BACKGROUND: Trump's first year back in the White House has produced both dramatic institutional takeovers and sustained pressure that cumulatively narrows room for independent cultural work. In May 2025, the Kennedy Center restructured its bylaws to freeze out Congress-designated trustees. That same evening, the NEA terminated 560+ approved grants totaling $27 million. Yet resistance is mounting: 150+ organizations pledged support for artistic freedom, and the Fall of Freedom movement staged 600+ coordinated events in November 2025. The battle over culture defines 2026
In December 2025, Giorgos Gavriel opened Antisystemic Art in Paphos, reinterpreting Christian icons in provocative ways. The exhibition faced political and church criticism, gallery disruptions, and threats. Days later, a low‑power explosive was thrown at the artist’s home, raising concerns about safety and freedom of expression in Cyprus.
COMMENT: On January 22, 2026, TikTok handed American control to a consortium of Larry Ellison's Oracle and an Abu Dhabi state fund called MGX. Ellison has given $26 million to Israel's military since 2014. MGX is chaired by the UAE's national security adviser, a country that criminalizes dissent, tortures prisoners, and surveils residents. The White House called it a national security win. For others it's a consolidation of power designed to silence. The First Amendment and Section 230 now shield these new gatekeepers from accountability.
South Africa: Minister Gayton McKenzie's unilateral cancellation of Gabrielle Goliath's Venice Biennale pavilion has triggered a constitutional crisis in South Africa's arts sector. The artist, unanimously selected by an independent panel, was removed after her "Elegy" series addressing Gaza was deemed "divisive." McKenzie claims sovereignty concerns and denies censorship, but critics say he violated the arm's-length principle protecting artistic freedom. Goliath has filed suit, and the sector awaits presidential intervention.
Lebanese stand up comedian Mario Moubarak became the target of a national backlash in late 2025 after a joke about Jesus from his Awk.word set “I Believe” was edited, stripped of context and republished online. Christian activist networks and religious institutions amplified the clip, triggering doxxing, death threats and a blasphemy complaint that led to his arrest at Beirut Airport and an ongoing criminal investigation
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Cabaret Paulikevitch in Beirut became a flashpoint in 2025, when Lebanese dancer and artivist Alexandre Paulikevitch faced threats and incitement from both Christian and Islamist extremists over his baladi performance. Despite calls to ban the show and online campaigns depicting his work as “perversion”, the September 11 cabaret went ahead to a sold-out audience at Metro Al-Madina, turning the stage into a rare moment of public resistance for queer-coded dance and artistic freedom in Lebanon
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