Suppression of Freedom of Expression

Interference of press freedom, from jailing journalists to threatening or fining media outlets; punishing free speech or coercing speech to promote administration priorities; interfering with First Amendment rights of universities via funding freezes

High

Domain Avg7.5

Erosion of Institutions & Norms8

Updated2026-04-02

Why This Score

This category scores 7/10, placing it in the High tier (7-8): “Systematic suppression, self-censorship widespread, legal harassment of journalists”

1.University funding freezes accelerated: Brown ($510M), Cornell ($1B+), Northwestern ($790M), Princeton ($210M) frozen in recent weeks, joining Harvard ($2.2B); UC system-wide hiring freeze; Columbia settled with $221M payment and policy concessions (Center for American Progress)
2.RSF ranks US 57th globally for press freedom; V-Dem classified US among 44 'autocratizing' countries; Inter American Press Association tallied 170 attacks on journalists in the US in 2025; institutional autonomy deteriorated 50% since 2015 (CNN/Al Jazeera/Inside Higher Ed)
3.Human Rights Watch published 'Academic Freedom in the US Under Threat' report (March 18); Texas A&M ended women's studies major; Florida limiting gender studies; UT dissolved faculty senates and subjects courses to political approval (HRW/Salon)

Score History

July 2025Score: 5

August 2025Score: 5

September 2025Score: 5

October 20255 → 6

FCC opened investigations into ABC, NBC, CBS over election coverage; Paramount settled with Trump under merger pressure; Harvard funding terminated

November 2025Score: 6

December 2025Score: 6

January 2026Score: 6

February 20266 → 7

Don Lemon arrested on federal charges for covering protest; FBI raided WaPo reporter's home seizing all devices; CPB dissolved ending $1.1B in NPR/PBS funding; FCC weaponizing equal time rules

March 2026Score: 7

Scoring Rubric

1-2

Robust press freedom, healthy media ecosystem, normal academic debates

3-4

Increased hostility toward press, some access restrictions, concerning rhetoric

5-6

Pattern of retaliation, university funding cuts with political motive, delegitimization of media

7-8Current

Systematic suppression, self-censorship widespread, legal harassment of journalists

9-10

Press effectively controlled, universities silenced, journalists imprisoned or deported

Key Findings

University funding freezes accelerated: Brown ($510M), Cornell ($1B+), Northwestern ($790M), Princeton ($210M) frozen in recent weeks, joining Harvard ($2.2B); UC system-wide hiring freeze; Columbia settled with $221M payment and policy concessions (Center for American Progress)

RSF ranks US 57th globally for press freedom; V-Dem classified US among 44 'autocratizing' countries; Inter American Press Association tallied 170 attacks on journalists in the US in 2025; institutional autonomy deteriorated 50% since 2015 (CNN/Al Jazeera/Inside Higher Ed)

Human Rights Watch published 'Academic Freedom in the US Under Threat' report (March 18); Texas A&M ended women's studies major; Florida limiting gender studies; UT dissolved faculty senates and subjects courses to political approval (HRW/Salon)