While many nations acknowledge freedom of speech as a fundamental right and allow their people to voice their opinions and ideas freely, this is not the case in some nations. Some of the most censored nations in the world are North Korea, Burma, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Eritrea, Cuba, Uzbekistan, Syria, and Belarus. Citizens of these countries are virtually isolated by authoritarian rulers who see access to information as a threat to their rule. The media is silenced and highly censored and restrictive laws, fear, and intimidation are used to prevent the spread of information.