Criticized, the American press unites against Donald Trump
Hundreds of American newspapers have published editorials in defense of press freedom against President Trump, who has been bitter against the media since the start of his term.
“You are fake news! ". “The media are the enemy of the American people! Donald Trump has made attacks on the press one of the pillars of his policy. An incessant assault to which the newspapers decided to respond on Thursday.
Led by the "Boston Globe" under the slogan #EnemyOfNone (Nobody's Enemy), more than 200 media groups are fighting back with editorials defending press freedom.
"Replacing free media with state media has always been a priority for any corrupt regime taking control of a country," writes the "Boston Globe". "And today in the United States we have a president who claims that the media which does not blatantly support the policies of the current American administration are the 'enemies of the people'."
According to the "Globe", this attitude of Trump towards the media leads him and his supporters "to undemocratic territory". This encourages strong men, like the Russian Vladimir Poutine or the Turkish Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to treat journalists as enemies.
The people have the right to criticize the press
The newspaper illustrates his point with an Ipsos poll, according to which 43% of Republican Americans believe that the president should have the power to shut down newspaper outlets and 51% believe that the media is indeed the enemy of the people.
John Adams, considered one of the founding fathers of the United States, said that freedom of the press was essential to freedom, the newspaper recalls. "It used to be a bipartisan and widely shared American value," the newspaper adds. But Trump's assaults on the press "threaten that tradition."
The Globe editorial board called for an end to President Trump’s sustained assault on the #FreePress. Hundreds of publishers around the US answered that call https://t.co/XpgjyrODMp pic.twitter.com/7lnSTlE6Sh
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) August 15, 2018
“Criticizing the media is a good thing. Journalists and editors are human and can make mistakes, ”recalls the“ New York Times ”, a recurring target of presidential invective, in a short editorial titled“ The free press needs you ”.
"But to insist that the truths you don't like are 'fake news' is dangerous for democracy," writes The Times.
Limited initiative
"I do not believe that the press can stand idly by and suffer, it must defend itself when the most powerful man in the world tries to weaken the First Amendment," said Ken Paulson, former editor of the daily "USA Today ”and co-editor of the Newseum, the museum of information in Washington.
But it puts into perspective the effectiveness of this awareness campaign. “People who read editorials don't need to be convinced. They're not the ones yelling (at journalists) at presidential meetings. "
According to him, faced with the assaults of the White House, the media must develop a broader “marketing” campaign to emphasize the importance of a free press as a fundamental value.
Thursday's initiative could have the opposite effect to that expected by galvanizing supporters of the president, who would see it as further proof that the media are indeed ganged against him.
