Free speech in the media during the Libyan civil war describes the ability of domestic and international media to report news inside Libya free from interference and censorship during the civil war.

This synopsis from Al Jazeera gives a sense of what the media war was like as of 12 March:"Libya: The propaganda war", Listening Post, Al Jazeera, 12 March 2011 When protests first began in Libya the media presence there was scarce so the story filtered out via social media thanks to courageous citizen journalists. Then, when the fighting intensified, global media numbers increased exponentially. Now there are hoards [sic] of international news teams camped out with rebel forces or reporting from the country's capital and Gaddafi stronghold, Tripoli.

There is a cacophony of competing narratives coming out of Libya. From propaganda on the country's state-run broadcaster, to propaganda on rebel-controlled radio, to international reporting with a clear agenda, it is enough to make your head spin.

Media conditions prior to the civil war

According to a BBC overview of Libyan media , "the state strictly controls the media", "the Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation is the state broadcaster", and "most Libyan newspapers are either directly or indirectly owned by the government".

The Libyan government authorized non-governmental media in 2007, leading to the launch of newspapers and a satellite TV service by a company affiliated with one of Colonel Gaddafi's sons. But the nationalization of these ventures in 2009 signaled the end to several years of improving conditions for the media. In January 2010 Libya began censoring the Internet. YouTube was blocked on 24 January following the posting of videos of demonstrations by the families of prisoners in the city of Benghazi, and of footage of members of Muammar Gaddafi's family attending parties. Other independent opposition websites were blocked at the same time."Country report: Libya" , Reporters Without Borders, accessed 1 October 2011

In 2009 Libya had 1.1 million fixed-line and 5.0 million mobile-cellular telephone subscribers for a combined fixed-mobile density approaching 100 telephones per 100 persons."CIA World Factbook: Libya", U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 27 September 2011 In 2009 a single government-owned service-provider offered Internet access to an estimated 5.5 percent of the population."2010 Human rights Report: Libya", Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 8 April 2011

Libyan law provided for freedom of speech "within the limits of public interest and principles of the Revolution", but in practice freedom of speech and the press was severely limited, particularly criticism of government officials or policy. Penalties included life prison-sentences for spreading news or information that could "tarnish the country's reputation or undermine confidence in it abroad" and the death penalty for "whoever spreads within the country, by whatever means, theories or principles aiming to change the basic principles of the Constitution or the fundamental structures of the social system or to overthrow the state's political, social or economic structures or destroy any of the fundamental structures of the social system using violence, terrorism or any other unlawful means". Given the broad nature of these prohibitions and the harsh penalties attached, Libyan journalists practiced a considerable degree of self-censorship.

Television

Libya's state-owned TV made no mention of the anti-government protests in the east of the country on 16 February and continued with its usual programming on 17 February. During its morning bulletin, Libyan TV continuously showed demonstrations in support of leader Col Muammar Gaddafi, which the TV said had been held "across Libya". There were about 200 to 300 demonstrators, the vast majority of whom were men, at each protest shown. At one point, a crowd could be heard chanting anti-Al Jazeera TV slogans. The TV started broadcasting a pro-Gaddafi demonstration live from Sirte, his home town, at around 1000 GMT. The numbers demonstrating were significantly greater than the previous day, with the crowd chanting: "Oh Jazeera! You despicable one." The TV aired live coverage of a speech by Gaddafi from the evening before, in which he denounced both the United States and their "Zionist" allies in front of a cheering crowd.

The signal of the TV satellite operator Nilesat was jammed starting 23 February. The stations carried by Nilesat included U.S.-based Al-Hurra, Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, and UAE-based Al-Arabiya, which had been providing live coverage of the recent events and interviewing residents by telephone.

Libya Alhurra TV (), meaning Free Libya TV, is an Internet television channel founded by Mohamed Nabbous at the start of the Libyan civil war to provide news and on-ground footage from Benghazi. It was the first private television station in Benghazi, in the east of the country and the only TV broadcast from Benghazi when the internet was shut down as the war began. Alhurra TV was able to bypass government blocks on the Internet in order to broadcast live images from Benghazi across the world. On 19 March, Nabbous was killed by pro-Gaddafi troops during the Second Battle of Benghazi.

Libya TV, also known as Libya Al-Ahrar TV, is a satellite TV channel broadcast from Doha, Qatar. It was created in late March 2011 by the National Transitional Council, after the NTC media minister, Mahmum Shammam, recruited a small group of volunteers via Facebook. With headquarters in Doha and studios in Doha, Benghazi, and London, Libya TV has correspondents throughout Libya. Libya TV admits to being a propaganda tool in the effort to dislodge the country's long-time leader, but show hosts have welcomed pro-Gaddafi loyalists to call in and air their views. The channel expected to make a decision sometime in October 2011 about staying in Doha or moving to Tripoli. In September 2012 Libya TV was broadcasting from Doha and had studios in Benghazi and Tripoli."About us" Libya TV, retrieved 13 September 2012

NATO air strikes on the Tripoli headquarters of the state-owned national TV broadcaster Al-Jamahiriya and two of its installations on 30 July killed three of its journalists and wounded 21 others, according to reports by Al-Jamahiriya which could not be immediately verified. NATO said it carried out the air strikes in order to silence the regime's "terror broadcasts" and put a stop to its "use of satellite television as a means to intimidate the Libyan people and incite acts of violence against them.""NATO attacks on national TV headquarters and installations in Tripoli" , Reporters Without Borders, 1 August 2011, updated 3 August 2011

Al Urubah, a pro-Gaddafi television station, broadcast messages from the deposed leader and his information minister, Moussa Ibrahim, following the fall of Tripoli in August 2011."Gadhafi Urges Libyans to Drive Away 'Infidels'", Leila Hatoum, Wall Street Journal, 25 August 2011 Al Urubah, Al-Jamahiriyah, and Al-Shababiyah have been off the air since late August 2011.

Radio

The Voice of Free Libya (Arabic: Sawt Libya al-Hurra) or sometimes Radio Free Libya (Arabic: Idha'at Libya al-Hurra) are the names used by several radio stations aligned with the Libyan rebels. The stations began operating from the cities of Benghazi,"Finding a voice in Libya" BBC World Service 7 March 2011 Bayda, and Misrata in February 2011. Other rebel-controlled radio stations are reported to operate in Tobruk, Nalut, Jadu, Derna, and Zliten. The outlets operate independently and with separate programing, although they share similar aims. They all carry material strongly supportive of the rebels and firmly critical of Gaddafi. Output is in Arabic, with the Nalut station also said to use Berber (Tamazight)."Future for Libya: Radio Free Libya", blog from March 2011 onwards

In May 2011, an English-language station, Tribute FM, began broadcasting from Benghazi. There is no evidence that this station has any connection with the Voice of Free Libya station in the same city."Radio free Benghazi – the war of words", Zoe Williams, Guardian, 15 May 2011

The former youth station, Al-Shababiyah FM, was re-launched under the new name, Al-Shababiyah 17 February FM, in late August 2011.

Newspapers Headlines on 17 February in state-owned Libyan papers continued to highlight pro-Gaddafi demonstrations or his public engagements. Quryna, which was previously part of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's Al-Ghad Media Corporation but is now state-owned, carried an upbeat report about order being restored in Benghazi. One article reported on the families of "17 February 2006 martyrs" who met the Libyan leader and condemned the protests. The front page of state-owned Al-Jamahiriya was dedicated to pro-Gaddafi demonstrations and his public appearance at the Ahly football club in Tripoli the day before, while state-owned Al-Shams led exclusively with coverage of this event.

The Libyan civil war has brought forth many new magazines and newspapers, including Al-Jazirah Al-Libiyah, Intifada Al-Ahrar, Al-Kalima, Libya Hurriya (Free Libya), Akhbar Al-Aan and many others. At the end of March there were half a dozen or so new publications. By the beginning of May that had grown to 28, by late May to 65, and in August it was over 120. So far all are weeklies and almost all are in Arabic. The Libya Post is the first all English language publication.Libya Post, official website, accessed 1 October 2011 Staffs run the gamut from enthusiastic amateur to professional."Libyan newspapers mushroom in an outpouring of pent-up frustration" , Michel Cousins, Arab News, 8 June 2011 In spite of the large number of new publications, much of the coverage of the Libyan conflict has been left to international media outlets such as CNN and Al Jazeera, in part due to a lack of experienced professional staff, in part to years of living under a repressive media regime, and in part due to a shortage of financing."Libyan media not covering its own war" , International Media Support, 22 August 2011

Yosberides () is a privately owned Libyan newspaper published weekly in print and on the internet. Based in Benghazi, the country's second largest city, its original name was Quryna (). It was part of Al-Ghad Media Corporation owned by Colonel Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam until it was nationalized in 2009. Its reporting was sympathetic to Gaddafi until rebel forces took control of Benghazi in early 2011. After that, it reported more openly and claimed to be impartial. On 23 February Reuters described it as "Libya's most reliable media outlet". However, there have been reports that the paper was seized by protesters and its web site shows the flag of the Libyan Republic, which the rebels use.

After opposition forces went into Tripoli on 21 August, publication of state-owned newspapers, such as Al-Shams, ceased."Libya media: Gaddafi mouthpieces fall silent", BBC News, 2 September 2011

International media

At the start of the conflict in late February and early March 2011, few international journalists operated in Libya. They worked under the close supervision of government minders and could not travel freely. As a result, international news organizations frequently relied on phone reports from people actually on the ground. This in turn meant that the media could not independently verify accounts and so reported them as "claims" or "allegations" rather than as "facts"."The difficulty of reporting from inside Libya", Jon Williams, BBC World News, 20 February The restrictions on and the attempts to control the media by the Gaddafi-regime continued until the government fled from Tripoli."Close your window", The Economist, 1 July 2011"Trapped journalists in Libya freed", Wikinews, 25 August 2011