International Media

Loony-Bin Reporting?

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Article in Columbia Journalism Review by Aida Alami, 11/3/25

Headline:  “Twin Assaults on Press Freedom”

Subhead:  “The ICE detention of Sami Hamdi closely follows the deportation of Mario Guevara.”

“Hamdi’s arrest was first announced by Laura Loomer, the far-right anti-Muslim troll with close ties to the Trump administration, via a triumphant post on X with the word ‘SCOOP’ and a siren emoji: ‘As a direct result of Amy [Mekelburg]’s report and my relentless pressure on the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, US officials have now moved to take action against Hamdi’s visa status and his continued presence in this country’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/twin-assaults-press-freedom-sami-hamdi-ice-abduction-loomer-amy-mek-dhs.php

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Article in The Washington Post by By Scott Nover and Drew Harwell, 11/3/25

Headline:  “Laura Loomer is now credentialed to cover the Pentagon”

Subhead:  “The far-right activist and former congressional candidate has repeatedly criticized defense officials on her website and social media accounts while boasting of her close ties to President Donald Trump.”

“Laura Loomer, the far-right political activist and former congressional candidate in Florida, has been credentialed to cover the Defense Department, according to one person familiar with the matter, joining a new cohort of right-wing media that have agreed to the Pentagon’s new press policy. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/11/03/laura-loomer-pentagon-credentials/

The Best Media Attackers

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Photo from Reporters Without Borders

Article in Reporters Without Borders by Staff, 11/1/25

Headline:  “2025 Press Freedom Predators”

“For International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, celebrated on 2 November, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is unveiling the profiles of 34 press freedom predators who attacked journalists and the right to information in 2025. What do they have in common? A hatred of press freedom. Their methods differ, but their objectives converge: silencing independent media voices and trampling on the right to news and information. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://rsf.org/en/2025-press-freedom-predators

 

Media Literacy – Important to Everyone

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Article in Poynter by Renata Salvini & Brittani Kollar

Headline:  “A journalist in Brazil is showing seniors how to outsmart misinformation, one WhatsApp message at a time”

Subhead:  “Through hands-on workshops, Talita Rosa is proving that media literacy can empower people of any age”

“The International Center for Journalists’ (ICFJ) Disarming Disinformation initiative is a three-year program, supported by the Scripps Howard Foundation, that aims to slow the spread of disinformation through multiple programs such as investigative journalism, capacity building and media literacy education. ICFJ partnered with MediaWise from the Poynter Institute to develop and deliver media literacy programming. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/media-literacy/2025/a-journalist-in-brazil-is-showing-seniors-how-to-outsmart-misinformation-one-whatsapp-message-at-a-time/

 

Radio Shutdown Coincidence?

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Article in The Guardian by Staff 10/30/25

Headline:  “Radio Free Asia suspends news operations amid cuts and US government shutdown”

Subhead:  “RFA will begin closing overseas bureaus, as well as laying off and paying severance to staff members, with the hope that it could return in the future”

“RFA was founded nearly three decades ago to report on China and other Asian countries without independent media.

“It has been operating with a skeleton staff the past few months, primarily producing a few stories online as the administration sought to choke off its funding. . .”

“Long a thorn in Beijing’s side, RFA’s closure comes after the US president met Chinese leader Xi Jinping on a trip to Asia. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/31/radio-free-asia-suspends-news-operations-amid-cuts-us-government-shutdown

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Article in Human Rights Watch by Staff, 12/23/25

Headline:  “Afghanistan: Taliban Tramples Media Freedom”

Subhead:  “Journalists Face Arrest, Torture; Journalists in Exile at Risk of Forced Return”

“The Taliban have gutted Afghan media since taking control of the country in August 2021 through the use of surveillance and censorship and by punishing media workers for perceived criticism.

“As the Taliban’s oppression of the media has increased, the need for independent news outlets in Afghanistan has become even greater. Journalists described both the harsh conditions in Afghanistan and growing challenges facing those living in exile. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/10/23/afghanistan-taliban-tramples-media-freedom

US Cuts Independent Media

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Article in The Nation by Rani Chor, 10/23/25

Headline:  “Independent Media in Cambodia Is Collapsing. Washington Made It Worse.”

Subhead:  “The Thai-Cambodian border conflict is just one of the many stories going underreported in the country as Trump’s funding cuts leave citizens and journalists scrambling.”

“. . .All the while, independent local journalists struggle to tell the stories of those in Run Ta Ek and across the country as funding for their reporting runs dry. . .”

“In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed an order to suspend foreign assistance—resulting in a devastating drop in funding for independent media, particularly in fragile or authoritarian contexts where support is most needed. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/independent-media-cambodia-usaid-budget-cuts/#

Journalist Opinion Not Allowed

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Article in The Guardian by Michael Sainato, 10/26/25

Headline:  “ICE detains British journalist after criticism of Israel on US tour”

Subhead:  “Trump ally Laura Loomer took credit for Sami Hamdi’s detainment in move denounced as ‘affront to free speech’ “

“British journalist Sami Hamdi was reportedly detained on Sunday morning by federal immigration authorities at San Francisco international airport, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair) says that action is apparent retaliation for the Muslim political commentator’s criticism of Israel while touring the US. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/26/ice-detains-british-muslim-journalist-laura-loomer

Where’s the Beef?

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Article in Daily Dot by Rachel Kiley, 10/21/25

Headline:  “Trump rebukes ‘young lady’ reporter questioning Argentina bailout as farmers rips his beef deal”

Subhead: “Just found out that the first A in MAGA stands for Argentina.”

“. . .A reporter recently questioned Trump about this backlash, asking, “What do you have to say to U.S. farmers who feel that the deal is benefiting Argentina more than it does them—”

“Look, Argentina’s fighting for its life, young lady,” he said, cutting her off. “You don’t know anything about it. They’re fighting for their life. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailydot.com/viral-politics/trump-backlash-beef-trade-deal-argentina/

Media Ignore Bombing?

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Article in FAIR by Belen Fernandez, 10/21/25

Headline:  “To Media, Gaza Ceasefire Holds Despite Repeated Israeli Strikes”

“. . .In the ten days following the implementation of the ostensible truce, the Israeli military reportedly killed at least 97 Palestinians in Gaza and wounded 230, violating the ceasefire agreement no fewer than 80 times. One might have expected, then, to see a headline or two along the lines of, I dunno, “Israel violates ceasefire”—or maybe “So much for ‘peace’ in Gaza.”

“No such headlines turned up in the Western corporate media—not that there weren’t some pretty spectacular violations to choose from. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/slider/to-media-gaza-ceasefire-holds-despite-repeated-israeli-strikes/

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Article in Democracy Now! by Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan, 10/16/25

Headline:  “Too Many Palestinian (and Certain Israeli) Voices Are Excluded from the U.S. Media”

“. . .In Israel, twenty families reunited with their loved ones who endured two years of captivity in Gaza following October 7th, 2023. Their pain and joy received blanket coverage in the US, and rightly so. But the ongoing suffering of the Palestinians rarely appears in the mainstream US media. It is absolutely essential that people here, the source of Israel’s arsenal, have access to the full breadth of debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. . ”

Read the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/10/16/too_many_palestinian_and_certain_israeli

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Article in The New Republic by James North, 10/15/25

Headline:  “The Media Is Blowing a Big Story in Venezuela”

Subhead:  “With the president and his cronies ratcheting up their belligerence, the political press is failing to grasp how close we are to another regime change war.”

“How’s this for history repeating? The mainstream American media is botching its coverage of the Trump administration’s mounting military threats to Venezuela, and that failure is contributing to what looks to be a prolonged and violent disaster for both nations. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/201512/media-courting-colossal-failure-venezuela