Journalists Claim China Blocked Media Access to Olympic Sites

Olympics
Annice Lyn/Getty Images
Warner Todd Huston

Now that the Genocide Games are in the record books, journalists who covered the games are finally speaking out to say that China blocked their access to the Internet.

On Saturday, LA Times reporter Nathan Fenno jumped to his Twitter account to note that his Olympics-approved hotel was blocking the Internet service to official sites associated with the games.

“Good morning from the Beijing Olympics, where our hotel WiFi is now blocking access to several Olympics-related sites “for security reasons” as the Games enter their final day,” Fenno wrote.

ARD TV reporter Tamara Anthony also chimed in and added a snapshot of the screen journalists are getting that tells them they can’t reach a website:

If this has been happening since day one of the Genocide Games, the media hasn’t said. But now that the games are over and these reporters are headed back home to the west, some are speaking out.

Still, while it seems likely this censorship was occurring throughout the games, we definitely know that China’s zealous security forces were keeping a tight grip on the media during the games.

You have but to recall the bum’s rush that a Dutch reporter suffered when he was briskly swept off TV during a live shot on Feb. 4.

The reporter, Sjoerd den Daas, of NOS News, was seen in a video clip shoved and herded away from his camera by a Chinese security agent wearing a black jacket and red armband.

The media should have risen in outrage over the incident. But instead, they all to a person remained silent about the mistreatment Sjoerd den Daas suffered.

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.