Trump’s return: an unprecedented period of uncertainty for press freedom ⁰

As Donald Trump returns to the White House while making and carrying out numerous threats against journalists and the media, Americans are wondering what the future holds for journalism.

Donald Trump has:

– issued at least 15 separate calls to revoke the broadcast licenses of television networks in political retaliation;

– vowed to investigate media outlets that are critical of him;

– insulted or threatened journalists hundreds of times on the campaign trail;

– formed an alliance with anti-journalism tech mogul Elon Musk;

– threatened Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg with jail time in an apparently successful effort to extract concessions on content moderation;

– sued multiple media outlets for coverage he disliked.

No one can say with certainty what threats President Trump will follow through on or whether the institutions that limit presidential powers will withstand an executive onslaught. The United States has the lowest ranking in its history in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, 55th out of 180 countries and territories.

RSF will continue to defend the values of journalism, whatever the threats. Support our actions in the United States and wherever press freedom is threatened. Make a donation now using our online form.

REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES (RSF)