The spread of misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information (MDM) online has become one of the most pressing issues of our time. Around the world, people have been inundated with false, misleading, and deceptive information about health, politics, and science. Journalists are on the front lines of these digital battles over truth, working to provide citizens with accurate news and information.

Since 2011, MDM laws have been on the rise, with the greatest increase seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seventy-eight countries have passed laws designed to limit the spread of false or misleading information. Some of these laws focus on improving platform transparency and increasing media literacy. However, many of them criminalise the creation and distribution of 'fake news'. Such laws often lack definitional specificity and can lead to greater overreaches of power. As such, they can have long-term consequences for freedom of the press and other human rights online.

This analysis of the 105 MDM laws identified four types of legal penalties embedded in these laws that could potentially hinder press freedom:

• Excessive monetary fines, which impose a range of financial penalties on journalists or media organisations
• Imprisonment, which involves arresting and imprisoning journalists and editors
• Content controls and corrections, which require journalists and media organisations to remove content or post state-approved corrections
• Increased administrative burdens, which include measures like licensing regimes, data localisation, transparency requirements, or mandated press or media councils