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Trump’s latest moves against free speech are ‘really scary stuff’

Poynter · Tom Jones · last updated

Just when it appears as if the situation can’t get any more absurd or dire, President Donald Trump does something even more preposterous that further jeopardizes democracy.

The lone silver lining in all of this is that the press is paying attention and reporting on everything that is happening.

Let’s go back to what happened on Friday.

After a slightly disappointing jobs report, what did President Donald Trump do? Did he go about trying to see why the numbers didn’t meet expectations? Did he roll up his sleeves to see how to improve those numbers?

Uh, no. He fired the person who pulled together the numbers. In other words, he fired the messenger. Trump went on long social media rants claiming, without proof, that Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “faked” numbers before last year’s election to help Kamala Harris. Trump also wrote, again without proof, that the data was “rigged.”

Related Knowledge Center: The White House vs. the press

State of Play

Whether it’s the Des Moines Register’s publication of an unfavorable election poll, a routine edit of a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, or the Associated Press’s decision in its authoritative stylebook to continue to use “Gulf of Mexico,” Donald Trump and the White House have used executive authority and legal reprisals in an effort to punish and suppress press coverage that runs contrary to the administration’s preferred narratives.

Democracy and politics | Signalgate | The CBS submission | Voiceless America


More informationabout The White House vs. the press

Related Knowledge Center: Information integrity

State of Play

In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug. 

Fact-checking and its detractors


More informationabout Information integrity

Related Knowledge Center: Free speech and public protest

State of Play

The First Amendment is facing challenging times: Crackdowns on campus protests prompted both-sides claims of intolerance. Attempts to head off dangerous health misinformation have been characterized as violations of free speech. Donald Trump is publicly punishing news outlets that deviate from his administration’s version of events while privately suing some outlets into submission.

The White House vs. the press  |  Voiceless America 


More informationabout Free speech and public protest

Related Knowledge Center: Democracy and politics

State of Play

News organizations are scrambling to find a coverage approach that adequately informs the American public about the country’s slide from democracy to authoritarian rule.

The White House vs. the press


More informationabout Democracy and politics