DARE: Daily Alert on Rights and Expression
President Trump takes his denigration of America’s free press to an international platform. Safety concerns for CNN staff surface as threats are received against reporters and their families. Rachel Maddow warns against tipsters trying to trip up media outlets with fake leaks. POLITICO reports that national security officials are increasingly paranoid about what they see as stealthy new steps by the White House in a campaign against leakers. -Dru Menaker, Chief Operating Officer
DARE: Daily Alert on Rights and Expression
The most pressing threats and notable goings-on in free expression today
U.S.
Trump trashes free press and U.S. intelligence in Poland
During his visit to Poland, Trump praised the country as “an example to others who seek freedom.” He commiserated with Poland’s increasingly authoritarian president, Andrzej Duda, about the difficulty of dealing with a free press.
HUFFPOST
High anxiety at CNN amid attacks from Trump and his trolls
CNN employees are increasingly apprehensive about death threats and other harassing messages targeting on-air anchors and top executives being sent on social media and harassing phone calls.
DAILY BEAST
Rachel Maddow to news orgs: Beware of forged Trump Russia documents!
Maddow said on-air that a “top secret” NSA document submitted to her show was likely fabricated. She pointed out the danger of such forgeries being sent to media outlets trying to report on important stories, like Trump’s ties to Russia.
MSNBC
Trump’s leaks crackdown sends chills through national security world
National security officials say they are becoming more concerned that the administration is tracking what they’re doing and who they’re talking to—then plotting to use them as scapegoats or accuse them of leaks.
POLITICO
Maine governor suggests he makes up stories to mislead media
After reports surfaced that the Republican governor planned to leave the state during a budget impasse, Gov. Paul LePage called the media “vile” and “useless.” LePage said that “the sooner the print press goes away, the better society will be.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Twitter wins critical victory in free speech battle against U.S. government
A federal judge rejected arguments that Twitter should not be allowed to be precise in its transparency reports when describing how it responds to the government’s requests for user data.
MASHABLE
Global
The guerilla journalists defying ISIS one video at a time
Abdalaziz Alhamza is a wanted man, targeted by both the Assad regime and ISIS’s international army of zealots. His crime: Telling the world about what’s really happening in his ravaged hometown of Raqqa, Syria.
WIRED
Group warns that Kenya may use cybersecurity surveillance
Privacy International said in a new report that the Kenyan government is rushing to set up systems to increase cybersecurity—but it may also be using the opportunity to increase surveillance for presidential elections next month.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Johannesburg court grants journalists interdict against BLF
The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) took action against the Black First Land First (BLF) movement for allegedly intimidating and attacking journalists reporting on state capture and corruption.
HUFFPOST
Vietnam police detain blogger for anti-state propaganda, mother says
A 23-year-old blogger was arrested in Hanoi for storing material and using the internet to spread propaganda videos against the government. The arrest was part of a government crackdown on critics of the country’s Communist rulers.
REUTERS