Censorship

Planted Media Falsehoods on Fire?

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Article in Media Matters by Jane Lee & Isabella Corrao, 5/28/25

Headline:  “An intelligence report debunked MAGA media claims about Tren de Aragua and Venezuela. A Trump official is now under fire for reportedly ordering the report be redone.”

“The New York Times reported that Trump intel official Joe Kent ordered the assessment to be edited to protect Donald Trump and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard”

“Intelligence community assessments rejected the Trump administration’s claim that the Venezuela-based gang Tren de Aragua is being directed by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s administration to infiltrate the United States.

“In response, the Trump administration dismissed the head of the National Intelligence Council and his deputy, making claims about the pair that an observer noted are ‘extremely difficult to believe’ given that they served the country ‘faithfully’ for decades. Administration official Joe Kent — a former fixture in far-right media and currently top aide to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard — also ordered analysts to revise the intelligence assessment, reportedly in order to protect President Donald Trump and Gabbard. . .”

Read the full story here:

https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/intelligence-report-debunked-maga-media-claims-about-tren-de-aragua-and-venezuela-trump

Restrict Press, Make Hegseth Safe

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Article in Status by Oliver Darcy, 5/26/25

Headline:  “Hegseth’s Safe Space”

Subhead:  “As backlash brewed over new restrictions on press access, the Pentagon made a second, quieter move—one that sent another troubling signal about how far it’s willing to go to create a safe space for Pete Hegseth”.

“On Friday afternoon, just before the holiday weekend was set to begin, word began to spread among Pentagon reporters: new, even more restrictive press limitations were imminent. Shortly after, the Pentagon Press Association was informed just how sweeping they would be. Pete Hegseth, the embattled Secretary of Defense, announced he would revoke journalists’ long-held ability to navigate the Pentagon’s unclassified hallways freely, cutting off access that has been permitted across Republican and Democratic administrations for decades. . .”

“Hegseth cloaked the decision in the language of national security. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.status.news/p/pete-hegseth-pentagon-press-access

VOA Angst

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Article in Poynter by Liam Scott, 4/23/25

Headline: ” ‘I am angry most of the time’: Inside a small VOA cohort’s return to work”

Subhead: “The bare-bones return has been marked by low morale, confusion and uncertainty, VOA sources say”

“Several weeks after the Trump administration began gutting Voice of America in March, the news agency is back — except, not really.

“A small cohort of Voice of America staffers quietly returned to the Washington office in early May, where they have been tasked with covering the news at a tiny fraction of the agency’s previous capacity.

“Instead of 49 languages, the congressionally funded but editorially independent news network is barely publishing in four. And instead of some 1,300 staffers, only about 30 are working. . .”

read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2025/voice-of-america-staff-back-office-skeleton-crew/

Public & State Media Not the Same!

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Article in FAIR by Ari Paul, 5/6/25

Headline:  “Taibbi Cites Government Attacks on Media to Defend Government Attacks on Media”

Subhead: “Cuts to PBS, NPR Part of Authoritarian Playbook.”

“Going after public broadcasters is part of the neo-fascist playbook authoritarian leaders around the world are using to clamp down on dissent and keep the public in the dark.”

“. . .Taibbi asked, “How nuts do you have to be to think ‘strong state media’ doesn’t have a dark side? . . .”

“Taibbi’s main trick is to pretend that ‘state media’ and ‘public media’ are interchangeable. They’re not. State media consists of government propaganda outlets that answer directly to executive authority, rather than independent editors. Public media are independent outlets that receive taxpayer subsidies. As I wrote in my piece, NPR “only gets 1% of its funding directly from the CPB,” the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. . .”

https://fair.org/home/taibbi-cites-government-attacks-on-media-to-defend-government-attacks-on-media/

Happy World Press Freedom Day!

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Article in The Guardian by Michael Savage, 5/3/25

Headline:  ” ‘A cocktail for a misinformed world’: why China and Russia are cheering Trump’s attacks on media”

Subhead:  “Today on World Press Freedom Day, there are warnings that US attempts to withdraw from promoting independent journalism will have far-reaching effects”

“As Donald Trump’s executive order in March led to the shuttering of Voice of America (VOA) – the global broadcaster whose roots date back to the fight against Nazi propaganda – he quickly attracted support from figures not used to aligning themselves with any US administration.

“Trump had ordered the US Agency for Global Media, the federal agency that funds VOA and other groups promoting independent journalism overseas, to be ‘eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law’. The decision suddenly halted programming in 49 languages to more than 425 million people. . .”

“It used to be that the US would put pressure on other countries for undermining free expression. . .”

“In Moscow, Margarita Simonyan, the hardline editor-in-chief of the state broadcaster RT described it as an “awesome decision”. The Global Times, an English-language Chinese state media publication, crowed that the broadcasters had been discarded by the White House “like a dirty rag”, ending their “propaganda poison’ ”

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2025/may/03/a-cocktail-for-a-misinformed-world-why-china-and-russia-are-cheering-trumps-attacks-on-us-media

NPR – Warm, Fuzzy Treatment?

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Article in Fair by Julie Hollar, 5/2/25

Headline: “Hey NPR, Free Speech Isn’t Just a Vibe”

Green Card–holding students are being abducted from the streets by agents of the state for attending protests and writing op-eds. News outlets are being investigated by the FCC for reporting that displeases the president. Federal web pages are being scrubbed of a lengthy list of words, including ‘race,’ ‘transgender,’ ‘women’ and ‘climate.’

“NPR responded to this shocking government attack on free speech with a Morning Edition series on ‘The State of the First Amendment,’ whose introductory episode’s headline (4/7/25) declared freedom of speech to be ‘shifting under the Trump administration’; it promised that the show would be ‘exploring how.’

“The wishy-washy language wasn’t a promising start, and the segment only went downhill from there, taking an ‘on the one hand/on the other hand’ framing to an assault on core democratic rights. . .”

https://fair.org/home/hey-npr-free-speech-isnt-just-a-vibe/

Another Hit to the Media

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Article in The Guardian by Margaret Sullivan, 5/1/25

Headline:  “The loss of editorial freedom at 60 Minutes is a sorry milestone for US media”

Subhead:  “What has happened with 60 Minutes is a high-octane version of what’s happening everywhere in Trump 2.0″

“There have been so many red alerts for press freedom in the United States over the past few months that it can be hard to know which ones really matter.

“The one at CBS’s 60 Minutes really matters.

“It came as a one-two punch. First, Bill Owens, the highly respected executive producer of the venerable news show stepped down, writing in a letter to employees that he no longer felt he had crucial editorial independence. It had become clear, he wrote, “that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it”.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/01/60-minutes-press-freedom

Non-MAGA Media Enemy of the People?

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Article in Mediaite by Zachary Leeman, 4/29/25

Headline:  “Reporter From Far-Right Gateway Pundit Asks Trump if the Press is ‘Proving to Be the Enemy of the People’ “

“While speaking with reporters, Jordan Conradson asked Trump about the ‘leftist media’ while complimenting his ‘Gulf of America’ hat he was holding. Conradson accused the media of trying to ‘hide’ mugshots of illegal migrant criminals.

“ ‘They’re trying to hide the mugshots that are featured on the front lawn of rapists, murderers, pedophiles. What do you think of that? Aren’t they proving to be the enemy of the people?’ Conradson asked about the media.

“ ‘Well, I guess they are. I guess they are, right? Thank you. Who are you with?’ Trump said’. . .  Conradson complimented Trump’s hate and identified himself as Gateway Pundit’s White House correspondent, earning an approving nod from Trump. . .”

https://www.mediaite.com/media/reporter-from-far-right-gateway-pundit-asks-trump-if-the-press-is-proving-to-be-the-enemy-of-the-people/

Policy Will Check Media Sources?

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Article in Daily Beast by Kenneal Paterson, 4/26/25

Headline:   “AG Pam Bondi Smashes Press Safeguards in Leak Investigations”

“The Trump administration revoked Biden-era protections for journalists in leak investigations Friday, allowing authorities to compel reporters to testify against their sources once again.

“ ‘Federal government employees intentionally leaking sensitive information to the media undermines the ability of the Department of Justice to uphold the rule of law, protect civil rights, and keep America safe,’ said Attorney General Pam Bondi in a memo obtained by NPR. ‘This conduct is illegal and wrong, and it must stop.’

“Attorney General Pam Bondi’s new policy will revoke critical protections for journalists in leak investigations.

“The new policy permits authorities to extract an unprecedented level of information from journalists. It authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ) to use subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants to obtain sensitive details.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ag-pam-bondi-smashes-press-210215640.html?guccounter=1

Media – Acid or Base?

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Article in Mediaite by Alex Griffing, 4/17/25

Headline:  “The Abrego Garcia Saga Is a Litmus Test For Media Figures”

“As President Donald Trump flirts with defying a Supreme Court order to help return a migrant that his administration admitted it deported and indefinitely imprisoned in El Salvador by ‘error,’ the media is faced with one of its easiest litmus tests in years: does due process and the rule of law matter in America?

“Many are failing. . .”

https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/the-abrego-garcia-saga-is-a-litmus-test-for-media-figures/