Reporters without Borders, an international press rights organization, has recognized TOLOnews journalist Anisa Shaheed for "courageous" reporting amid the coronavirus outbreak. She was listed in a group of 30 international “information heroes” -- journalists, whistleblowers and media outlets-- whose "courage, perseverance or capacity to innovate has helped to circulate reliable and vital information during the Covid-19 pandemic."
 
The Afghan media organization Pajhwok News was also named among the 30. 
 
RSF said that although many Afghan media workers have caught COVID-19, Anisa Shaheed, a "courageous journalist," is still out reporting every day.
 
RSF spotlighted Shaheed's covering of the shooting attack on the maternity ward of a Kabul hospital in mid-May and "the government’s mishandling of the pandemic," all while "exhibiting the highest professional standards."

For Shaheed, and other Afghan reporters, "it took courage to simply keep reporting in the field with the threat of infection compounding the threat of militants’ attack," said RSF. 

RSF mentioned that some members of Pajhwok News, an independent Afghan news agency, confined themselves at the agency's offices for a month, where the founder and director, Danish Karokhel, stayed with 15 other coworkers onsite to ensure the continuity of activities.
 
RSF said that some of those mentioned displayed courage in resisting pressure and censorship, such as Caixin, an independent English and Chinese-language media outlet in Beijing whose reporting has questioned the Chinese government’s narrative.
 
In the United States, RSF said, "several White House correspondents have distinguished themselves by their perseverance in adversity despite "constant attacks by President Trump and his aides," as they question the Trump administration's handling of the pandemic.