For example, Viktor Orban’s government in Hungary, and Aleksandar Vucic’s administration in Serbia consolidated media ownership in the hands of their cronies. In Hungary, nearly 80 percent of the media are owned by allies of the government. This ensures media support for the government and the smear of perceived opponents.
In the U.S., President Trump’s war with the media is well known. Here are the attitudes of other democratically elected leaders cited by Freedom House:
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey: “Know your place...shameless militant women disguised as journalists.”
Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa: “I have argued with [the media] that they were never elected, we were elected, and we can claim that we represent the people.”
Roberto Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia: Some of you [journalists] are dirty, anti-Slovak prostitutes.”
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who served as Prime Minister of Poland, claimed that Poland’s largest newspaper was “against the very notion of the nation.”
Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, has used his Facebook page to attack high- profile investigative journalists and has been accused of colluding with media owners to shape favorable coverage.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duarte has voiced insults and death threats against journalists.
This is not a list of the usual suspects when it comes to press restrictions. These are democratically elected leaders that have concluded that their citizens are not capable of using reason to distinguish good from bad journalism.
An essential belief of democracy is that when people argue openly with each other, good arguments will prevail. As John Milton argued, we must have unlimited access to the ideas of our fellow citizens in “a free and open encounter.” To remain viable, democracies must promote a marketplace of ideas, ensuring that freedom of the press does not become democracies’ paradise lost.
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