US — #WeeklyAddress special edition: December 18 2017 - January 7, 2018: President Trump ushers in new year with fresh attacks against the press

Trump tweets violent “memes” targeting CNN

President Trump retweeted a violent image of himself with a bloody CNN logo portrayed on the sole of his shoe. The image was first tweeted out by an alleged pro-Trump account.

This tweet from December 24 is one of many violent “memes” Trump has shared on his account targeting CNN throughout his presidency. He previously shared a GIF of himself “body-slamming” a figure with CNN’s logo superimposed on its head and an image of a “Trump train” hitting a man, also with a CNN logo covering his head. Trump has also repeatedly made verbal attacks on the network’s integrity, including a January 7 tweet that attacked CNN Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper’s heated interview with Trump political advisor Steve Miller.

The President’s hostile online rhetoric has seemingly encouraged others to tweet similar attacks on the media. On December 30, former Milwaukee County sheriff and Trump supporter David Clarke tweeted a photoshopped image of Trump restraining a man with a superimposed CNN logo, while a photoshopped Clarke is seen kicking the man in the face. He coupled the image with a caption that vowed to “MAKE THEM TASTE THEIR OWN BLOOD.” As a result of his tweet, Twitter suspended Clarke’s account for violations of their Terms and Conditions, but he regained access to his account under the condition that he delete his threatening tweet.

Trump announces awards for “Fake News Media”

Just two days into the new year, President Trump announced on Twitter that he would be hosting an award show for media outlets, with categories meant to discredit their reporting. While he had originally scheduled the event for January 8, the President has postponed the “ceremony” until January 17, citing interest and importance “far greater than anyone could have anticipated!”

The announced awards have provoked criticism and concern from multiple press freedom advocates and journalists. Throughout 2017, President Trump has countlessly attacked the media on Twitter, with almost 200 of his tweets referring to outlets as “fake news.” The President has previously even entertained the idea of stripping “fake news outlets” of their broadcasting licenses, firing journalists who report on sensitive issues, and “opening” libel laws to make it easier to sue news outlets.

The latest journalist targeted by President Trump for removal is ABC News’ Brian Ross, who was suspended and demoted for broadcasting inaccurate information about the President’s administration. Following the end of Ross’ suspension, Trump took to Twitter to call for Ross’ removal.

President Trump tries to prevent the publication of a journalist’s book

President Trump has attempted and failed to prevent the publication of a book that portrayed him in a negative light. On January 4, journalist Michael Wolff and publisher Henry Holt & Co. received a cease-and-desist letter from the President demanding they halt the “further publication, release or dissemination of the Book, the Article, or any excerpts or summaries of either of them, to any person or entity” and issue a retraction and apology to the President. If ignored, the letter threatened to sue Wolff and Henry Holt & Co. for defamation by libel. In defiance of Trump’s order, the book was published and released two days earlier from the original release date. The book in question, “Fire and Fury: Inside the White House,” offered an inside account of the Trump Administration, and detailed many allegedly controversial conversations between the President and his staff, including former aide Steve Bannon. Trump’s attempt to ban a book critical of him and his administration has raised questions regarding his understanding of the First Amendment, which protects free speech. The Author’s Guild, the oldest and largest professional organization for writers, released a statement that called Trump’s attempts “ flagrantly unconstitutional.” The Guild’s president, James Gleick, stated “That’s what tyrants do, not American presidents.”

Citizen journalist penalized for filming a political rally

Citizen journalist Nydia Tisdale was sentenced on December 15 to one year of probation, 40 hours of community service, and $1,000 in fines for recording a political rally. In August 2014, Tisdale was recording Republican candidates at a public event in Dawsonville, Georgia when the venue’s owner demanded she be removed. In her footage, a sheriff aggressively arrested Tisdale after she questioned why she was being asked to leave, and charged her with multiple felonies, including obstruction of an officer and criminal trespassing. If convicted of all charges originally brought against her, she faced a possible five years in prison. But she was only convicted of obstructing an officer, a misdemeanor, and avoided any prison time. Following the sentencing hearing, Tisdale’s attorney, Bruce Harvey stated, “I hope it doesn’t chill journalists...It certainly hasn’t deterred Nydia." Tisdale’s arrest was a preview into a growing number of arrests of journalists over the past year. According to the US Press Freedom Tracker, a collaborative database of which RSF is a partner, 32 journalists were arrested in the US in 2017 in connection with their work.

White House blames the media for President’s low approval rating

During a press briefing on December 19, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders blamed media coverage of President Trump for his low approval ratings. She stated that “90 percent of the coverage is negative about this President, when, as you just said, I listed off a number of things that have been pretty historic in nature in this first year. And if people were focused a lot more on those things in the media, I think that his numbers would be a lot higher.” The President has repeatedly accused the media of neglecting topics he believes are important, such as the economy. On January 5, the President tweeted about his recurring belief that the media intentionally underreport the state of the stock market, despite multiple media outlets’ extensive coverage of the topic.

Security firm sues journalist for reporting on breach

On December 19, Keeper, a security firm that specializes in password software, filed a lawsuit accusing Ars Technica security editor Dan Goodin of making “false and misleading statements.” The lawsuit is in response to Goodin’s article which reported on potential security concerns in the firm’s software. Keeper claims that the article defamed the firm and calls for Ars Technica to retract and remove the article from their website. President Trump and his family have often accused the media of defamation; First Lady Melania Trump has sued multiple media outlets and bloggers for defamation and libel. Trump’s repeated assertions that critical reporting constitutes “fake news” have seemingly encouraged similar lawsuits, such as Sarah Palin’s suit against the New York Times last year.

White House fails to hold end-of-the-year press conference

Breaking with tradition, the Trump White House decided not to hold an “end of year” press conference, which normally summarizes the accomplishments of the administration in its first year. This marks the first time in 15 years that the President didn’t comply with the tradition. While the President has hosted multiple joint press conferences with foreign heads of state, Trump’s notorious avoidance of solo press conferences have caused him to lag behind his predecessors’ record in the first 100 days of office.

President Trump attacks The Washington Post on Twitter

On December 19, President Trump attacked The Washington Post on Twitter in retaliation for an article it published regarding the relationship between the President and Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. His tweet uses the phrase “fake news”, which Trump has repeatedly chosen as a label for stories he finds unflattering.

The President has previously attacked The Washington Post for publishing articles about his administration and has even directed his rage at individual journalists. On December 9, the President called for Post reporter Dave Weigel to be fired after he reported, and later corrected, a misleading image of the crowd size at a Trump rally in Florida.

The United States ranks 43rd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2017 World Press Freedom Index after falling 2 places in the last year.

For the latest updates, follow on twitter @RSF_en.