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Int'l Business Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Milei Steps Up Attacks On Media As Election Nears
Argentine President Javier Milei has stepped up his attacks on journalists with defamation suits and insults that analysts say are designed to bolster his image as an anti-"woke" warrior ahead of October elections. The chainsaw-wielding, budget-slashing, libertarian president has recently taken to describing critical reporters as "human excrement," "trash," "baboons" and "prostitutes to politicians." A new slogan, "We don't hate journalists enough," has its own hashtag: #NLOSALP, which Milei adds to online posts. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has moved Argentina down 47 spots on its World Press Freedom Index from 2023, when Milei took office. It now sits at 87 out of 180 countries. The daily La Nacion counted 410 attacks by Milei on the press during his first year in office in speeches, interviews and on social media. Sixty journalists were assailed by name. "His mistreatment of journalists... has worsened in recent weeks as the government loses control of the narrative" and editorials express doubts about Milei's economic reforms, Hugo Alconada Mon, an investigative journalist at La Nacion, told AFP. Others say the president's anti-media stance is an essential part of his battle against what he calls "woke ideology." "It's a central theme since the government claims to be engaged in a 'cultural battle,' and since the narrative, by definition... goes through the media," said Gustavo Marangoni, a political analyst with the consultancy M&R Asociados. It is also common for populists, Marangoni added, to create "an enemy" for their supporters to blame for "a conspiracy... to prevent the success of libertarian governance." Since he took office in December 2023, Milei has made good on his promise to lower inflation. But it has come at a price of cutting thousands of jobs and slashing social spending, while concerns remain over Argentina's ability to shore up foreign reserves and attract investment. Milei has filed eight lawsuits against journalists this year alone, two of which have been dismissed. At least one reporter is under police protection after receiving online threats and has filed a countersuit against Milei for intimidation. "Insults, defamation and threats from Javier Milei's administration toward journalists and media critical of his regime have become commonplace since he took office," according to RSF. Milei insists the media has only itself to blame. "All these journalist scum called me incestuous, a zoophile, homophobic. They called me a Nazi," he complained recently to a friendly streaming channel, Neura. "Then, when they face a backlash, they start whining." Shila Vilker of political consulting firm Trespuntozero said Milei's targeting of the media serves to maintain his image of a disruptor, to show "that he remains the same 'outsider' who came to power to fight the political-media 'caste'." This was particularly crucial to drum up support in the months leading up to October parliamentary elections, with Milei seeking to expand his party's representation. Vilker said that due to Milei's rhetoric, "the center is neutralized, polarization increases, and the message becomes clear: there is no room for the lukewarm" in the country with deep political divisions. Backed by a "digital army that amplifies and multiplies the harassment," it also has the effect of intimidating potential critics into silence, she added.
Middle East Eye
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
'There is real fear': How Israel's attack on Iran enabled an assault on press freedoms
Journalists working in Israel are facing harassment, violence and ever-tightening restrictions on their ability to report as a result of military censorship powers reinforced by tough new restrictions imposed during last month's war with Iran. Palestinian journalists in Israel say they have borne the brunt of the latest crackdown on press freedoms, with some describing being attacked by police or hostile mobs as they worked. Israel's military censor has sweeping powers, requiring both domestic and international media organisations to seek its approval on stories related to matters of national security. Earlier this year, +972 magazine reported that Israel had seen an "unprecedented spike" in the use of military censorship powers in 2024, citing data collected annually by the magazine since 2011. It said the censor last year banned the publication of 1,635 articles and censored a further 6,265, intervening in an average of 21 news stories per day, and in about 38 percent of more than 20,000 stories submitted for review. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Haggai Mattar, the executive director of +972, told Middle East Eye: "There is nothing like this in other countries that define themselves as liberal and democratic." Israel this year dropped from 101st to 112th in the annual World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), with RSF warning that journalists had faced "intensified repression" since the start of the war on Gaza. Israel's war on Gaza 'worst ever conflict' for journalists: Report Read More » RSF also accused Israel of "annihilating journalism" in Palestine, which it said had become "the world's most dangerous state for journalists", citing the killing of almost 200 journalists in Gaza by Israeli forces. Last month, the censor's office issued a flurry of new guidelines further limiting journalists' ability to report, most notably restrictions requiring media organisations to seek written authorisation to report from missile impact sites and potentially criminalising journalists who did not abide by the new rules. These restrictions were condemned by the Union of Journalists in Israel, which represents both Israeli and Palestinian journalists accredited inside Israel, as "the latest nail in the coffin of press freedom in Israel". International press freedom organisations also expressed alarm. Anthony Bellanger, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, said: "This wave of assaults and censorship against Palestinian Israeli and foreign journalists in Israel is deeply alarming. Journalists must be allowed to report freely and safely." Broadcasts taken off air Razi Tatour, a Palestinian journalist from the Galilee region who holds an Israeli press card, told MEE he had faced days of harassment while trying to report on the Iranian attacks for Jordan's Alghad TV news network. In one incident, he had gone with a television crew to a residential building damaged by an air strike near Tel Aviv, accompanying journalists from Kan, Israel's national broadcasting corporation. Initially, the crew were allowed access, alongside their Israeli press colleagues. But when a police officer heard him speaking Arabic, Tatour said, the mood quickly changed. "He immediately attacked me, trying to cover the camera and trying to scare me. Then they told us to leave." Tatour and his crew left the area. They set up their equipment nearby and started broadcasting live. Tatour was then approached by more police officers who asked him who he was working for. "I told them I was on air and that I had a press card. But they refused to listen and called in forces to cut the cable and take us off air." The police officers had also called them "terrorists", Tatour said, which he feared risked inciting crowds gathered at the scene. Their equipment was confiscated and only returned to them four hours later. The next day, Tatour was broadcasting again from a hotel room overlooking the northern city of Haifa when police burst in. "They stormed the room and stopped the broadcast," he said. "They claimed we were filming in an illegal place and that we had bypassed the military censor and were providing information to the enemy." Tatour said he and a number of others working for Arab news organisations were detained for around three hours, and their equipment was again confiscated. 'Freedom of the press is no longer constitutionally guaranteed as a right but is rather conditional on national identity and discipline' - Anton Shalhat, chair of I'lam Media Center "They accused me of working with Hezbollah, that the footage had reached websites affiliated with Hezbollah. They threatened to arrest me, but there was no arrest." The next morning, Tatour received a phone call summoning him to the police station in Haifa. "In the end, there was nothing. They explained the censor's instructions and said we were prohibited from covering Haifa. To this day, our cameras are still being held." Tatour told MEE he believed his experiences were part of a systematic policy on the part of the Israeli government to intimidate journalists. "Civil society organisations, human rights groups and journalists' unions may support us legally and in court, but they cannot really protect us. That's the reality," he said. "There is fear, real fear, among journalistic crews, and that fear is intentional. We were made an example of. It was an attempt to intimidate all the other journalists in the country." In other cases, journalists have complained of being prevented by police from reaching the sites of rocket and missile strikes. Following a ballistic missile strike on the town of Rishon Lezion, near Tel Aviv, which killed two people and injured dozens more, journalists from Saudi Arabia's Al Arabiya network, as well as Turkish and Egyptian networks, said they had been refused access when attempting to visit the area. Creating an 'internal enemy' Anton Shalhat, the chair of I'lam Media Center, which supports Palestinian journalists working in Israel, told MEE that at least 30 Palestinian journalists had reported facing disruption while trying to report during the days of Iranian air strikes targeting Israeli towns and cities. These included being subjected to physical assaults, threats and intimidation, and the confiscation of equipment, Shalhat said. While police were responsible for many of these incidents, Shalhat said that journalists had also reported being threatened and assaulted by mobs emboldened by a permissive environment "that allows for violations of the law as long as the target is an Arab journalist". The ability to work as a journalist in Israel, he added, was now linked to "ethnic affiliation and presumed loyalty". "Freedom of the press is no longer constitutionally guaranteed as a right but is rather conditional on national identity and discipline," he said. Some Israeli journalists observe that harassment of colleagues working for Arab media organisations has also increased since the government banned Qatar-based Al Jazeera from reporting inside Israel in May last year. "After closing Al Jazeera, they needed to create an internal enemy," said Oren Ziv, a photographer and reporter for Local Call, a Hebrew-language news site. British Jewish journalists call for Israel to allow media access to Gaza Read More » "In my opinion, the harassment of Arab journalists is not related to censorship or security, but to the exploitation of censorship." Ziv said photographers had been put in danger by an assault on press freedoms led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi. "They gave a licence to every citizen, every guard, every police officer and every volunteer in the police to harass and bully photographers," he said. "Not only Arab and Palestinian photographers who work in the field but also foreign photographers and even Israeli photographers." Ziv added that a climate of fear and the growing weight of reporting restrictions meant that many journalists and photographers were now more inclined to self-censor their work. "You have these very confusing guidelines; you need to check before you release photos and check what others are doing, and of course, it is discouraging." In some cases, he said, even when Israeli photographers had been given permission to take photos, they had been unable to do so because of police harassment. "They say: 'You are leftists and you serve Iran. Don't take photos here.' There is a broader move that everyone is an enemy and everyone needs to be silenced, and it doesn't matter who you are. "But without a doubt, the Arab journalists and photographers are the first to pay the price."
New Indian Express
29-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Mediapersons facing challenging times: CM Pinarayi Vijayan
KOCHI: Mediapersons working in visual and print media are facing multiple challenges with the development of information technology and the spread of social media, said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Kochi on Saturday. Though they are called the protectors of democracy, mediapersons are facing challenges in their work sphere, he said while inaugurating the Journalist Welfare Fund organised by Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) in Kochi. 'As India's ranking in the World Press Freedom Index declines, there has been a decline in the rights of journalists. The anti-labour policies of the Union government add to the crisis. The government is trying to merge the Working Journalist Act with the labour code. Concerns have been raised about the fate of the Wage Board formed to ensure better remuneration for journalists,' said Pinarayi Vijayan. Congratulating the KUWJ for launching its own Welfare Fund, he termed it as the right move for survival in challenging times. The decision to support the families of journalists during difficult times reflects the compassion and care towards colleagues. Assuring that there are no insolvable issues between the government and journalists, the chief minister said the problems regarding the Journalist Pension Scheme can be solved through discussions. He also congratulated the KUWJ for launching Breaking D, a campaign against drug menace. Inaugurating Breaking D, the anti-drug campaign launched by the KUWJ, Opposition leader V D Satheesan said while the government agencies focus on enforcement, it is the duty of society to create awareness about the menace. He termed the Journalist Welfare Fund as a model that can be replicated by other organisations. It reflects the compassion and empathy of journalists towards their fellowmen, said Satheesan.
Deccan Herald
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
Law must not silence free speech
India already ranks 159 out of 180 countries in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index. Giving a government-appointed body – with the regulatory authority headed by the Kannada and Culture minister – the power to determine truth is not just risky; it could lead to State overreach.
Days of Palestine
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Days of Palestine
Israel Accused of Blocking International Media Access to Gaza to Avoid Scrutiny
DayofPal– Israel is facing growing international criticism for its continued refusal to allow international journalists into the Gaza Strip. Media advocates and press freedom organizations say the move is aimed at restricting transparency and evading accountability during its protracted military campaign. In a sharply worded analysis published by Sky News, Executive Editor and Managing Director Jonathan Levy accused Israeli authorities of deliberately obstructing foreign media access to Gaza, where more than 20 months of bombardment have left the Strip devastated and effectively sealed off from outside scrutiny. 'Israel's confidence in the integrity of its wartime conduct is not matched by a willingness to allow international journalists into Gaza to witness what is going on there for themselves,' Levy wrote. 'The ongoing denial of access feels much less about the safety of journalists and more about preventing proper scrutiny and accountability.' Since the war began in October 2023, Israel has barred independent foreign journalists from entering Gaza, allowing only limited, military-supervised media embeds lasting a few hours. Israeli officials have cited concerns over reporter safety. However, Levy, along with other veteran journalists, pointed out that media outlets have covered previous wars in Gaza despite the risks. 'The risks are real, for sure,' Levy acknowledged. 'But they're risks that we accept. It's what we do.' The media blackout has come under increased scrutiny as local Palestinian journalists continue to document the war under harrowing conditions, often at great personal cost. According to Gaza's Government Media Office, at least 227 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since the conflict began. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate has described it as 'the largest massacre of journalists in history.' Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in its 2025 World Press Freedom Index, identified Palestine as the most dangerous place in the world for journalists, reporting that nearly 200 journalists and media workers have been killed by Israeli forces in the conflict's first 18 months. At least 42 of those journalists were killed while on assignment, RSF said. 'Trapped in the enclave, journalists in Gaza have no shelter and lack everything, including food and water,' RSF reported. A study by Brown University's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, titled News Graveyards: How Dangers to War Reporters Endanger the World, declared the Israeli campaign in Gaza the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern history. The study reveals that the toll is surpassing the combined tolls of the U.S. Civil War, both World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Balkan conflicts, and the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan. 'In 2023, a journalist or media worker was killed every four days. In 2024, it was once every three days,' the report found. The majority of those killed were local reporters. Levy also highlighted what he called a troubling effort to delegitimize the limited reporting that does emerge from Gaza. 'What reporting has been possible is often shamefully labelled as anti-Semitic and compared to the darkest periods in Jewish history,' he said. 'This constitutes a war on truth that is at odds with Israel's proud and oft-repeated claim to be the Middle East's only democracy.' The Center for Protecting Palestinian Journalists (PJPS) described the targeting of journalists as part of a wider pattern of human rights violations. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) echoed these concerns, stating that the war represents a historic low for journalist protections in war zones. 'This war is unprecedented in its impact on journalists and demonstrates a major deterioration in global norms,' said CPJ President Jodie Ginsberg. CPJ and other press freedom organizations have accused Israel of attempting to deflect responsibility for journalist deaths, suppress investigations, and absolve its military of accountability. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemned the ongoing situation as 'a massacre taking place in Palestine before the eyes of the entire world,' calling 2024 'one of the worst years' in history for media professionals. Shortlink for this post:
