As media freedom sinks to its lowest point in the last quarter of a century, people are being pushed into clandestine workarounds just to get news and information past the apparatus of state control. On World Press Freedom Day, 3 May, the BBC World Service said it is speaking to someone involved in smuggling technology and services into Iran to access media, while also highlighting the difficulties faced in accessing BBC news in several countries.
Who Gets Shut Out
According to the 2026 World Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders, press freedom is at the lowest point in the last quarter of a century. Fiona Crack, Global Director, BBC News, said: “We know that democratic values are under threat globally and this pressure goes hand-in-hand with the reduction in press freedom. Draconian actions taken by authorities around the world stop journalists doing their job and withhold information from people, increasing international instability and uncertainty. The BBC World Service is determined to provide for audiences who need us most and to find new ways of reaching them.”
The BBC World Service said it is fighting reductions in media freedom by providing for audiences in innovative and diverse ways, combatting some of the restrictions put on populations and BBC staff. That fight, in practice, means people outside the institution are doing the dirty work of access while governments keep tightening the screws.
In Iran, amid nationwide internet shutdowns, a clandestine network smuggling Starlink satellite technology into the country has emerged. The BBC World Service has spoken to “Sahand,” not his real name, who said he has sent over a dozen contraband items to enable internet access into the country since January. Sahand said: “If even one extra person is able to access the internet, I think it’s successful and it’s worth it.” He said the Starlink devices he sends to Iran are one of the most reliable ways of bypassing the shutdown.
Last year, the Iranian government passed legislation that made using, buying or selling Starlink devices punishable by up to two years in prison. Sahand said the consequences could be severe if caught: “If I was identified by the Iranian regime, they might make those I’m in touch with in Iran pay the price.”
How the Workarounds Work
Many Iranians bypass restrictions by using virtual private networks to access the internet to share and access independent information. BBC News Persian has the largest audience of any international media inside Iran. At the start of the 2026 protests, BBC News Persian was reaching 27.5 million people each week on Instagram, almost half the adult internet population of Iran. Following the internet shutdown, audiences in the country fell sharply.
BBC News Persian responded by launching a temporary emergency lifeline radio programme and establishing a weekly newsletter. The team also extended its television news coverage, offering increased live news to meet the demand for information during the war. Staff who work for BBC News Persian are threatened, harassed and abused for their reporting. Last year saw an alarming increase in the harassment, with family members in Iran being taken in for repeated interrogation and their passports confiscated.
This is what state repression looks like when it reaches into homes and families: not just blocking websites, but punishing the people around journalists too. The BBC’s response has been to keep publishing through radio, newsletters, television, and alternative platforms, because the official channels are built to exclude.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, access to BBC News Russian in Russia has been severely restricted and the service’s website and most social media platforms are blocked. This initially saw an audience drop of 95% across Russia, though the numbers have since recovered significantly as the service works dynamically to reach audiences through alternative platforms. Audiences in Russia now use virtual private networks to access BBC content on the BBC News Russian website and on social platforms like Telegram, YouTube and Instagram.
BBC News Russian podcasts were banned on all platforms in Russia in 2022 and were moved to YouTube. Since the Russian authorities’ subsequent intentional slowdown of YouTube in 2024, podcast output has also been made available on a dedicated Substack page. BBC News Russian journalists also produce a weekday newsletter with mirror links to enable access to BBC content without the need for a VPN. Several members of BBC News Russian staff have been labelled “Foreign Agents” by Russia and are now at risk of criminal prosecution.
What the Authorities Call Order
In Belarus, there was an unprecedented post-election media crackdown in 2020. According to the independent Belarusian Association of Journalists, 22 media workers are currently in prison. In the past six years, almost all independent publications and their social media pages have been blocked, banned and even declared extremist, effectively making it a crime for audiences inside Belarus to engage with them. BBC News Russian journalists are no longer able to operate in Belarus.
The extremism designation has been imposed on BBC News Russian content, and all BBC sites have been blocked. As of March 2026, it is illegal for people in Belarus to share BBC News Russian content. BBC News Russian is pivoting to social media to ensure audiences in Belarus continue to have access to independent news from the BBC.
The pattern is consistent across these places: authorities restrict, criminalize, and harass; people adapt with VPNs, newsletters, radio, and smuggled technology; and the information keeps moving anyway, despite the machinery built to stop it.