Will Trump’s attacks on media lead to violence against journalists?
UN Human Rights Council says US president’s ‘vitriolic’ rhetoric is ‘designed to undermine confidence in reporting’
Most commentators agree that the office of US president has entered uncharted territory since Donald Trump took power, not least in terms of political rhetoric.
In contrast to the stately eloquence of previous US leaders such as Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, the reigning president is arguably the first to have spawned his own catchphrase. “Fake News” has become a staple of Trump’s administration, characterising the populist sentiment that carried him into office.
The phrase is also part of a wider trend of controversial attacks on the press. Earlier this month, experts at the United Nations warned that the president’s “vitriolic” rhetoric “could result in violence against journalists”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a joint statement, David Kaye of the UN Human Rights Council and Edison Lanza of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said that Trump’s attacks “run counter to the country’s obligations to respect press freedom and international human rights law”, and are “designed to undermine confidence in reporting and raise doubts about verifiable facts”.
“Each time the president calls the media ‘the enemy of the people’, or fails to allow questions from reporters from disfavoured outlets, he suggests nefarious motivations or animus. But he has failed to show even once that specific reporting has been driven by any untoward motivations,” they said.
The report was published days after CNN chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta was “loudly heckled by supporters” of Trump at a presidential rally in Tampa Bay. The crowd shouted “CNN sucks”, “traitor” and “you're a liar”.
This is by no means the first time that Trump has been accused of inciting violence against journalists. In one widely reported incident, in mid-2017, the president tweeted a doctored video showing him “assaulting” a man with a CNN logo superimposed on his head - prompting universal condemnation.
CNN’s Dean Obeidallah said that public anger was effectively deflected by “Trump defenders saying this video was just a joke”.
But the Kenan Institute for Ethics, a think tank associated with North Carolina-based Duke University, claims Trump has committed more grave offences in a bid to incite violence against journalists that are not so easily swept under the rug.
“In addition to waging verbal warfare against the press, Trump has supported individuals perpetrating physical violence against the Fourth Estate, effectively endorsing encroachment on journalists’ human rights,” the institute says. “After now-US representative Greg Gianforte received a misdemeanour assault citation for body slamming The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs during his congressional campaign, Trump praised Gianforte’s election as a ‘great win’.
“Similarly, despite proclaiming at a 2015 rally that ‘I would never kill [journalists], but I do hate them,’ Trump laughed when Phillippine president Rodrigo Duterte - a man who has previously vowed to assassinate wayward reporters - referred to the press as ‘spies’.”
The Guardian reports that Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, a Jordanian prince and diplomat, is stepping down this month as UN high commissioner for human rights in the face of a waning commitment among world powers to fighting such abuses by governing administrations.
In an interview with the newspaper, Hussein noted Trump���s repeated designation of the press as “the enemy of the people”, and claimed that the president’s approach “harked back to a period not too long ago in the 20th century when feelings were stoked, directed at a vulnerable group for the sake of political gain”.
“We began to see a campaign against the media that could have potentially, and still can, set in motion a chain of events which could quite easily lead to harm being inflicted on journalists just going about their work, and potentially some self-censorship,” Hussein said. “And in that context, it’s getting very close to incitement to violence.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder
By The Week UK Published
-
Israel attacks Iran: a 'limited' retaliation
Talking Point Iran's humiliated leaders must decide how to respond to Netanyahu's measured strike
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: November 2, 2024
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Reporter on leave over alleged RFK relationship
Speed Read New York magazine political reporter Olivia Nuzzi admitted to having a personal relationship with her subject
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rupert Murdoch's behind-closed-doors succession court battle
The Explainer Media mogul's legal dispute with three of his children over control of his influential empire begins today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
The increasing ubiquity of 'pink-slime' journalism
The Explainer The issue is becoming more concerning as the US election draws closer
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
The secretive practice of 'catch-and-kill' tabloid journalism
The Explainer Outlets such as the National Enquirer have become infamous for using the practice
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Substack's moderation crisis: the revolt over 'Nazi newsletters'
Talking Points Platform facing 'greatest crisis in its short history' amid writer exodus over hate speech vs. free speech debate
By The Week UK Published
-
The most memorable newspaper front pages of 2023
In Depth From resignations and Covid revelations to Hamas's deadly attack
By The Week UK Published
-
CNN in crisis
Speed Read Hemorrhaging viewers post-Trump, CNN is trying to broaden its appeal. Can it get Republicans to tune in?
By The Week Staff Published
-
What the demise of Buzzfeed News tells us about the future of digital journalism
feature Closure of news division provides sobering reminder of struggles to find a sustainable business model for online media
By The Week Staff Published