The article discusses the Trump administration's efforts to control the media narrative, likening them to authoritarian regimes' tactics. It highlights actions such as limiting journalists' access to the White House, targeting the AP for using specific terminology, and dismantling the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees international outlets that promote press freedom. These strategies aim to delegitimize independent journalism and consolidate power while raising concerns from journalists and scholars about the dangerous precedent being set for democratic institutions and the role of a free press as a check on power.
‘Having served as a Moscow correspondent in the early days of Putin's reign, [the Trump White House's pool takeover] reminds me of how the Kremlin took over its own press pool and made sure that only compliant journalists were given access.’
‘Dictators around the world are celebrating this and laughing at us.’
‘...the Trump administration also barred AP reporters from White House events, accusing the agency of spreading misinformation after it refused to exclusively use the term ‘Gulf of America’ instead of Gulf of Mexico.’
‘These escalating attacks on the press are not isolated incidents but part of the authoritarian playbook, which seeks to discredit independent journalism to control information...’
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