section_path: Government and politics/Human rights/Press freedom
section_name: Press freedom
paragraph_text: Press freedom
  
  Under the government of Omar al-Bashir (1989–2019), Sudan's media outlets were given little freedom in their reporting. In 2014, Reporters Without Borders ' freedom of the press rankings placed Sudan at 172th of 180 countries. After al-Bashir's ousting in 2019, there was a brief period under a civilian-led transitional government where there was some press freedom. However, the leaders of a 2021 coup quickly reversed these changes. "The sector is deeply polarised", Reporters Without Borders stated in their 2023 summary of press freedom in the country. "Journalistic critics have been arrested, and the internet is regularly shut down in order to block the flow of information." Additional crackdowns occurred after the beginning of the 2023 Sudanese civil war.