WHEREAS there were cases of stigmatization and discrediting against media and journalists in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, the United States, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela
WHEREAS there were cases of stigmatization and discrediting against media and journalists in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, the United States, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela
WHEREAS stigmatization, used by rulers, public officials, leaders, and political followers of different ideologies, aims to undermine the credibility of journalists and media that reveal matters of public interest
WHEREAS stigmatizing and hostile speeches against critical and independent journalism are taken up and amplified on social networks, inciting smear campaigns and violence, and misogynistic messages in the case of women journalists, actions that often lead to direct attacks
WHEREAS in Argentina, President Javier Milei continues to harass journalism with generalizations, calling them "liars, slanderers, and defamers."
WHEREAS in Bolivia, sectors aligned with the government and the opposition label the media as "sold press" and "cartels of lies."
WHEREAS in Brazil, cases of harassment against investigative journalists have been reported, aiming to destroy their reputation, erode their assets, and provoke self-censorship
WHEREAS in Colombia, President Gustavo Petro labels the press that publishes critical investigations of his administration as "liars" and accuses, without evidence, critical media of inciting coups, being "far-right," and spreading misinformation
WHEREAS in Costa Rica, President Rodrigo Chaves Robles discredits critical journalists in public events and press conferences and praises media and publications aligned with the government
WHEREAS in Ecuador, journalists and media faced cyber-attacks and smear campaigns
WHEREAS in El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele referred to journalists and independent media as "employees" of USAID and following a "destabilization agenda," using funds from that U.S. aid agency
WHEREAS that in the United States, President Donald Trump attacks and mocks the media, calling MSNBC the "fake news network" and claiming it has even worse ratings "than the disaster of CNN broadcasting"
WHEREAS in Honduras, the escalation of official intolerance to criticism manifests through stigmatization, insults, and disqualifications
WHEREAS in Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum maintains a weekly segment called "Fake News Detector" to identify and refute information erroneously disseminated in media and social networks and label any criticism of the government as a "negative campaign"
WHEREAS in Nicaragua, the stigmatizing discourse of public officials is used to discredit critical journalists
WHEREAS in Peru, President Dina Boluarte and high-ranking provincial government officials stigmatize the critical press
WHEREAS in Puerto Rico, Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz uses foul, misogynistic, homophobic, and racist language to attack journalists who question his decisions or those of his political party in government
WHEREAS in Venezuela, the Minister of Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, alleged, without evidence, the existence of a group of journalists paid by the U.S. Treasury Department to cover leaders of the opposition political alliance Democratic Unity Platform
WHEREAS in its sixth article, the Declaration of Chapultepec states that "the media and journalists should neither be discriminated against nor favored because of what they write or say."
THE MIDYEAR MEETING OF THE IAPA RESOLVES
To urge rulers and politicians to stop the practices of disqualification and stigmatization against journalists and media
To insist that stigmatization is a form of apology for violence that deepens levels of intolerance, divisions, and polarization in society
To urge the governments of the Americas to ensure that public debate is conducted in a climate of tolerance, respect, and within international standards on freedom of expression.
