On Monday, David Kaye, the U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of expression accused Trump administration of an “onslaught” against the media and spoke about a negative “Trump effect” on global press freedom.
Talking to journalists in Geneva, Kaye said, “Clearly the signature issue over the past four years now has been the way in which this particular president addresses the media: The way he denigrates the media, denigrates freedom of expression.”
Kaye specified that the ‘onslaught’ referred to criticism of reporters, spreading of “disinformation,” and partnerships with conservative media organisations.
Kaye accused the Trump administration of creating a global culture of permissiveness.
He spoke about a “Trump effect, a very negative one,” on the press freedom around the world.
Kaye commented that he hoped “attacks” on US journalists would stop when Donald Trump is no longer the president.
Referring to the global trends and without naming countries, Kaye also spoke about government crackdowns that have worsened with the coronavirus pandemic, “Unfortunately often under the guise of trying to restrict disinformation, governments have resorted to old tools of clamping down on the free flow of information.”
In response to Kaye’s statements, White House spokesman Judd Deere told Reuter: “No other Administration has been as transparent as President Trump’s, and we expect all of the news to be fair and accurate.”