Groups that advocate for freedom of the press usually train their sights on countries like Turkey, Venezuela, and Egypt to combat violence and state-sponsored policies intended to hobble reporters. But now they are turning their attention to a country they never considered to be at risk of posing a real risk to journalists: the United States.
In the wake of Donald Trump's machismo-fueled fantasy tweet depicting himself pummeling CNN along with instances where politicians like Republican Greg Gianforte have actually assaulted journalists, the groups now say U.S. reporters are newly at risk. Hadas Gold of Politico reports:
“I never thought I’d be talking this way about an American president,” said Robert Mahoney, deputy executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists [CPJ]. “These are strange times indeed.”
"I haven’t seen an appropriate response from the government since he tweeted that [CNN video] and that’s scary,” said Margaux Ewen, advocacy and communications director of Reporters Without Borders in North America. “They should acknowledge it’s a serious matter to tweet something like that. To actually seemingly threaten CNN with violence in a video and to encourage that other people act that way, they need to acknowledge that is what that is."
CPJ and other free-press organizations are now collaborating on a new project documenting threats, attacks, and other efforts intended to keep journalists from doing their jobs. Ironically, the effort will be partially funded by $50,000 from Montana Rep. Gianforte as part of his settlement for clocking Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs.
Mahoney called the project “unprecedented,” but given the current climate, he added, “we feel it’s the only way to effect change.”
