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Trump’s anti-journalist rhetoric, now echoed by Pence, heats up at Phoenix rally, stoking increased concern among journalists. Pro-Russian bots on Twitter amplify far-right messages with hashtags from Charlottesville. Following Trump’s failure to condemn white supremacists at Charlottesville, a broad coalition of rabbis boycott a usually innocuous conference call ahead of the Jewish holidays. -Anoosh Gasparian, External Relations Coordinator

U.S.

Trump, Calling Journalists ‘Sick People,’ Puts Media on Edge
While criticizing media coverage has long been a surefire tactic to rile up crowds, the depth of the president’s jabs in Phoenix took even seasoned journalists by surprise. Journalists have faced increasing harassment, and have been targets of “doxxing,” or publishing sensitive information like phone numbers and home addresses online.
NEW YORK TIMES

In Trump’s war on press, Pence gamely nods along
The conservative vice president was once an outspoken advocate for press freedom, but thrust a finger at the media pen Tuesday night, coaxing a Phoenix crowd to rain boos on the press, which Pence accused of “ignoring and distorting the facts.”
POLITICO

Texas’ Revised Voter ID Law Still Discriminatory, Federal Judge Rules
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, who first struck down the law in 2014, said Texas didn’t go far enough with its changes and said that criminal penalties Texas attached to lying on the affidavit could have a chilling effect on voters who, fearful of making an innocent mistake on the form, simply won’t cast a ballot.
NBC NEWS

News articles on Facebook now include publisher logo
“We’re going to keep experimenting with different ways to support the news industry and make sure reporters and publishers everywhere can keep doing their important work,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Wednesday post.
CNET

Rabbis Protest Trump’s Comments by Boycotting Conference Call
In a sign of the still-intensifying backlash against President Trump’s response to the violence this month in Charlottesville, four coalitions of rabbis pre-emptively announced that they would not participate in any conference call before the Jewish holidays next month.
NEW YORK TIMES

Pro-Russian Bots Take Up the Right-Wing Cause After Charlottesville
A sample of 600 Twitter accounts linked to Russian influence operations have been promoting hashtags for Charlottesville such as “antifa,” a term for activists on the far left; and “alt-left,” a term Trump used, interpreted as suggesting an equivalence between liberal demonstrators and white nationalists in the so-called alt-right.
PRO PUBLICA

 
Global

Cambodia threatens purge of critical media and U.S. charity
Cambodia has threatened to close three foreign media outlets and a US charity, accusing them of operating illegally or owing millions in back taxes, in what appears to be a coordinated purge of government critics before a general election next year.
THE GUARDIAN

Kyrgyz Court Shuts Down Television Channel On Extremism Charges
The Prosecutor-General’s Office accused the channel, known for its criticism of President Almazbek Atambaev, of airing an interview with the former chief of police in the southern Osh region, Abdylda Kaparov, that insulted then-Prime Minister Sooronbai Jeenbekov and his brother.
RADIO FREE EUROPE/ RADIO LIBERTY

Journalist killed in Mexico at least 9th this year
Candido Rios Vazquez, a newspaper reporter in the Mexican Gulf coast state of Veracruz who was enrolled in a government protection program for journalists, was killed Tuesday along with two other men. Rios had been threatened repeatedly since 2012 by a former mayor of Hueyapan de Ocampo.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Globe and Mail journalist detained by Chinese police in Xinjiang region
The Globe’s Asia correspondent Nathan VanderKlippe was held for about three hours from late Wednesday evening until Thursday morning before he was released by local police and government officials. The incident comes as foreign journalists in China report increased harassment and intimidation while reporting from the country.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Defamation case against BBC reporter in Thailand withdrawn
The case against Jonathan Head, BBC’s Southeast Asia correspondent, had begun Wednesday and has been criticized as an example of how Thailand’s harsh criminal defamation laws can be used to intimidate journalists.
ASSOCIATED PRESS

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