Press freedom was again under siege this week on several fronts, from the United States to Argentina. In the U.S. state of Florida, a state bill could make anonymous sources considered false in lawsuits against the media. Meanwhile, President Alberto Fernandez aimed at the press during the opening of congressional sessions in Argentina, calling it "lying with total impudence."
In Cuba, the organization Article 19 condemned state violence against Cuban journalists, who have been detained, threatened, and harassed. According to the Chapultepec Index, Cuba is among the last three places in the ranking of press freedom in the Americas.
Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, who has been detained for more than seven months, was linked to a second legal process in which he is accused of obstruction of justice. The justice system also charged several journalists with the same crime for criticizing the government in the case, among them the IAPA former president, Gonzalo Marroquín.
In Colombia, the Foundation for Press Freedom (FLIP) requested the Attorney General's Office to investigate the governor of Magdalena, Carlos Caicedo, for issuing messages on Twitter stigmatizing a reporter who received threats and went into exile.
This week the most mentioned journalism and communication topics on Twitter were 'freedom of expression' (858 mentions), 'fake news' (442), and 'fake news' (205).
Aaron Rupar, a U.S. journalist, authored the most influential tweet of the week: 'James Comer says he has been in "constant communication" with AT&T and DirecTV leadership about DirecTV's decision to drop Newsmax. He added that he told them to "fix this, or else" I'm sure the Twitter Files people will be furious about this First Amendment infringement!".
IAPA Bot is an artificial intelligence tool of the Inter American Press Association that monitors press freedom violations in real-time. It tracks information published in the media, Google News, Twitter, and from a selection of IAPA notes and denunciations. In addition, it contains a heat map that allows observing the press freedom climate in each country, a button to make complaints and a menu that highlights the statements of government leaders, citizens' conversations, and relevant events.
IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It comprises more than 1,300 publications in the Western Hemisphere, based in Miami, Florida, United States.
