Washington’s BlogStunning Hypocrisy
The White House said today:
History shows that a free press remains a critical foundation for prosperous, open, and secure societies, allowing citizens to access information and hold their governments accountable.
Indeed, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reiterates the fundamental principle that every person has the right “to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Each and every day, brave journalists make extraordinary risks to bring us stories we otherwise would not hear – exposing corruption, asking tough questions, or bearing witness to the dignity of innocent men, women and children suffering the horrors of war. In this service to humanity, hundreds of journalists have been killed in the past decade alone, while countless more have been harassed, threatened, imprisoned, and tortured. In the overwhelming majority of these cases, the perpetrators of these crimes against journalists go unpunished.
All governments must protect the ability of journalists to write and speak freely. On this first-ever International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, the United States commends the priceless contributions by journalists to the freedom and security of us all, shining light into the darkness and giving voice to the voiceless. We honor the sacrifices so many journalists have made in their quest for the truth, and demand accountability for those who have committed crimes against journalists.
We whole-heartedly agree.
But that’s stunning hypocrisy, given that the U.S. is actually one of the world’s worst offenders against press freedom … treating reporters like terrorists and criminals.
Even top mainstream reporters have said that this administration is more hostile to the press than any other in history.
As just one example, the Washington Post reports that USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page says the current administration is more threatening to press freedom than “any administration in American history,” that she was “really worried” about what could happen if the White House continues to prevent reporters from doing their job of telling the news and telling the truth, and:
This administration has been more restrictive and more challenging to the press, more dangerous to the press, really, than any administration in American history.
This administration may be the most hypocritical in history. Indeed – in an attempt to hide its hypocrisy – the Obama administration has prosecuted more whistleblowers than all other presidents combined.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/11/obama-administration-praises-freedom-press-gutting.html