On President Donald Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order essentially reaffirming freedom of speech.
The order claims that President Joe Biden’s previous administration “trampled on freedom of speech” by censoring “American speeches on online platforms,” and that social media companies “misinformation,” He claimed that he forced him to comply with the “disinformation” and “, pose as a fight against. malicious”.
What overlooked the order was that members of both parties routinely asked social media companies, including social media companies (formerly Twitter) about what they currently owned by Trump’s ally Elon Musk.
At the same time, Trump regularly targets the platform and the people who are critical of him, his allies and his agenda. His attacks on more traditional presses, such as television/radio news networks and newspapers, have escalated since winning the election.
“We see multifaceted attacks on freedom of speech, but it’s not just freedom of speech, especially multifaceted attacks on journalists and the ability to question what Donald Trump and the Trump administration do. I think we can do that,” the issue of the speech at Northwestern University told Al Jazeera.
“We see efforts to subdue journalists not only to avoid criticism of Donald Trump and the people who work under him, but also to avoid reporting the news in ways he dislikes.”
Election spin
After Trump won the presidency, he chased several media outlets. He filed two cases against the Des Moines Register and its poller J Ann Selzer after voting to suggest that Trump was chasing Vice President Harris.
Pollers predicted a tough race from the start, and this paper was no exception. They were right. Trump won, but not by the landslide he and his allies allies claimed. This race was actually one of the tightest in American election history and was the smallest since 1968. Trump ended up with less than half of the popularity poll.
Trump sued ABC News in March 2024 after longtime anchor George Stephanopoulos commented on the atmosphere that Trump was found to be “be responsible for rape” by author E Jean Carroll. Ta. In 2023, the court found that Trump sexually abused Carol, a violation that is different from rape under New York law. The ABC has agreed to pay $15 million to Trump’s Presidential Foundation to settle the lawsuit.
Trump is also chasing CBS’s news magazine program 60 minutes. The president suggests that the program has made a look at an interview with then-democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, to cut out parts where he made no effort to make the former vice president look good and shake up voters’ will. did. CBS denied the allegation.
Trump also asked the broadcaster to lose his license. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) provides local television and radio stations with an eight-year license to use public radio waves. The FCC can revoke a license only for a limited time. This is the case when the station completely stops broadcasting. The next TV station set for license renewal will not be until fall 2028.
Prior to the election, Trump also threatened to investigate MSNBC and NBC about his reporting on the network. Trump’s allies voted for NBC and Comcast by allowing Harris to appear at a live show for 90 seconds on Saturday night, despite being given the same time on the same network within 24 hours during the NASCAR race. claimed he committed interference.
Trump had threatened to change the Honorable Lib Loss Act to make it easier for media organizations to sue, but since the Honorable Law is within the sphere of the state and not the federal government, they actually change them. It cannot be done.
“I think what he meant was that he wanted to make it easier for journalists to chase what tools they weren’t using, assuming he was thinking about what he was talking about,” Kitrosser said. .
Escalation after inauguration
While on the campaign trail, Trump distanced himself from Project 2025. This is a blueprint for overhauling the federal government created by the Heritage Foundation. However, since winning the election, he has led various government departments, including appointing several authors from the document and appointing Brendan Kerr to lead the FCC.
The FCC has since launched an investigation into public broadcasters NPR and PBS regarding allegations that public broadcasters are operating the commercials. Federal funding is subject to stations that do not operate commercials or other promotions for commercial institutions.
Republicans targeting public media are nothing new. In 2012, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said he intends to withdraw funds for public broadcasting. In 2007, then-President George W. Bush proposed a 25% reduction in public broadcasting. In the 1970s, Richard Nixon explored the elimination of public television.
On Trump’s first day in office, he appointed Kerr to lead the FCC by executive order. Two days later, the FCC revived complaints against three major US networks, NBC, CBS and ABC.
In September, for example, Trump had urged the FCC to cancel ABC licenses after the network eased the presidential debate. The agency recently resurrected the complaint even if it does not have the authority to revoke any of these licenses.
Later, in a rumour with conspiracy about a true society, Trump suggested that the US government paid illegal news outlets, including Politico, for reporting. But in reality, the federal government paid for a subscription to news publications, which is not common.
Under Carr’s direction, the FCC urged CBS to hand over the transcript and raw video of Harris’ interview, which the Trump campaign claimed. CBS complied with the agency’s requirements. The FCC has released a transcript of the interview and a complete video. This was done on the website by CBS.
“This is a head screcher for me. It’s about CBS claiming that they are legally forced to flip these documents as if they had no choice. Of course there are options. Press of the Press Foundation’s advocacy director Seth Stern said that Al Jazeera has a legal system that can resist unconstitutional demands from the government, allowing them to freely assert their rights, just like most press agencies. can.
Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, is reportedly preparing to resolve the lawsuit against the interview, according to a newsletter Puck, which includes some of CBS’s most senior correspondents. The network’s journalists have threatened to publicly resign or speak out. In addition to his role as an anchor for CNN, Anderson Cooper was a correspondent for 60 minutes, reportedly urged staff not to step down in protest.
Cooper did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
“If you have such a political stunt for an interview that is only edited length, it’s very easy to publish everything and solve the problem. The reason why the entire 60-minute interview doesn’t air is the show Because it’s 60 minutes long. The Internet exists now. There’s an infinite, virtually infinite space to post interviews completely. Why wait for a legal dispute,” Stern adds. Ta.
One of the FCC’s five commissioners, Biden’s appointee, Anna Gomez, denounced Kerr’s move, saying that the move he goes after CBS was an attempt to threaten the media.
“It is designed to instill fear in broadcasters and influence network editorial decisions. The Communications Act clearly prohibits committees from censoring broadcasters, and the First Amendment protects journalistic decisions against government threats,” Gomez said in an official statement (PDF).
Kar did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
Stern believes that ABC’s pro-Disney and Paramount’s move to resolve is due to business interests outside of news operations. For example, the Paramount and Skydance merger is currently pending.
CBS did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
“I think it speaks to the broader climate of fear, what the future can hold. It’s more you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you develop things in court. It’s fine, or not,” the Caribbean, a committee to protect journalists, told Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, the Department of Defense has also reshuffled its Pentagon press workspace. The agency, now led by a former Fox News host, has traded previous spots for mainstream presses, replacing them with far-right publishers, with the exception of HuffPost. Instead of NBC News, we brought in one American news network. This is a very right-right network hosting shows hosted by former Florida MP Matt Gaetz, according to a House Ethics Committee investigation, and paid several women for sex . He temporarily served as Trump’s candidate for Attorney General, including minors.
The Department of Defense did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
Famous journalist Katie Courick wrote to X that the move would prevent journalists covering the Pentagon from doing their job.
Couric’s representatives did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for an interview.
“Unfortunately, it’s predictable that Trump will engage in such a favor, but it’s also an opportunity to reevaluate the approach and perhaps do better journalism,” Stern added.
“My hope is that outlets that are excluded and are not accessible to familiar access, using the opportunity to double the investigation report that does not require them to be in briefing rooms when they are government, leaving access journalism. Officials give them a spin,” he said.
On top of this, FBI director Kash Patel’s Trump candidate has threatened to chase journalists on a right-wing podcast.
At the White House briefing room, spokesperson Caroline Leavitt unveiled a new media chair for podcasters and content creators. The White House said more than 7,000 people were applied, but did not say which standard the administration would choose the chair.
The White House did not respond to requests for an interview with Al Jazeera.
Creators are the blossoming category of media, but do not have the same editing standards as traditional news organizations require. According to a UNESCO report, 62% of news and commentary creators say they don’t check the information before sharing it.
In addition to attacks on press freedom, Trump’s team and his allies at the federal, state and local level have pushed for many measures over the past few years that have hindered free expression.
These measures include banning books teaching specific topics such as critical racial theory, restricting access to research resources, threats to deport non-citizen protesters, and specific religious in government settings. This includes coercion of belief systems on others and prohibiting access to sexual material.
History repeats itself
Trump is not the first administration to have hostile ties to the media. Even in the administration of President Barack Obama, there were serious concerns in that respect.
Even when Obama joined “Lions Den,” he interviewed Fox News Sunday in particular, and former Primetime opinion host Bill O’Reilly (who was forced to resign in 2017 amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Even he also came down violently in the news leak and charged eight leaks under espionage in 1917. Under Obama, the Department of Justice summoned journalists on the Associated Press and FOX News.
“The use of spying by the Obama administration was very troublesome. The administration was so triggered that it was being taken away from chasing people who served as sources of media,” said Kitrosser, a law professor in the constitution.
Trump escalates hostility towards the media and calls journalists “the enemy of the people.” He regularly threatens the press and chases whistleblowers.
The first Trump administration had the Justice Department investigate eight journalists. The Justice Department also seized phone records for reporters for the Washington Post, New York Times and CNN.
“The Obama administration has made this very nasty weapon up and used it in some nasty ways. But in the Trump administration, it basically follows people he perceives as personal enemies. It is in the hands of a very vindictive and lawless president who revealed his desire to do so,” Kitrosser added.