Although press freedom in the Republic of Cyprus is guaranteed by the constitution, political parties, the Orthodox Church and commercial interests have a great deal of influence over the media. Journalism is also hampered by certain bans on the use of geographical names not accepted by the state; on the denial of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes not recognised by the state. Defamation is criminalized. Recently, the Auditor General publicly threatened English-language daily Cyprus Mail, for using a Turkish geographical name in its reports. He said the paper “committed a criminal offence” and added he would examine the subsidy given to the paper.