Trump's attacks on freedom of expression
Since he began his second term as US president, Donald Trump has been taking action against journalists and media outlets that he claims spread lies or are biased against him. Only recently, a court dismissed a lawsuit brought by Trump against the New York Times, and he has threatened to have the broadcasting licences of TV stations ABC and NBC revoked. Commentators discuss the consequences of this policy.
Cancel cuture at its worst
Trump makes no secret of his glee over the fact that his critics in the media are being silenced due to political pressure, Respekt notes:
“He's even listed other programmes he wants cancelled. ... 'They give me only bad publicity. ... I would think maybe their licence should be taken away.' That's an unbelievable statement. The president of the United States is calling on the government regulator to revoke the licences of broadcasters who criticise him. This is a direct attack on freedom of speech - the ultimate instrument of cancel culture in the hands of a despot. How ironic that only recently Vice President JD Vance accused Europe of moving towards totalitarianism by persecuting hate speech. 'I fear that freedom of speech is declining across Europe,' he actually said at the time.”
Don't emulate the left
Such retaliatory measures are dangerous, columnist Dimitar Petrov asserts on news.bg:
“Memories of when Trump himself was banned from major social networks are still fresh. The temptation for the Maga movement to do to its opponents what the Democrats did to them until not so long ago is certainly great. But is it the right thing to do? ... If Maga takes the same path, it legitimises the violation of freedom of expression and its restrictions depending on who is in power at any given time. This raises the question for all conservatives: do we want to become like those we are fighting against, and whom we have repeatedly mocked?”
Free speech applies for everyone
Denník Postoj addresses its conservative readership:
“We conservatives should not shrug off the progressives' calls to be principled in our defence of free speech and denounce violations. ... Power can corrupt, and every politician is therefore a potential threat to freedom of expression. Even those we love can fall from grace. ... Commitment to freedom of expression is not measured by whether you tolerate statements with which you agree, but by the ability to tolerate statements expressing opinions that you consider wrong, stupid, harmful, hateful, shocking or even scandalous.”
From post-truth to censorship
The truth has long been under attack in the US, writes Cumhuriyet:
“The decline of US democracy didn't begin with Trump. Freedom of expression already suffered its first serious blow on 11 September. Even CNN reported extensively on Saddam's non-existent weapons of mass destruction in its most successful phase. ... The decisive turning point came in 2016, at the beginning of Trump's first term. As soon as Trump set foot in the White House he declared war on the truth with terms like 'post-truth' and 'alternative facts' and ushered in a new era of propaganda thanks to social media. At the point we have reached today, the problem is no longer 'alternative facts', but that inconvenient 'facts' are no longer wanted.”