Americans disturbed by Israel’s Al Jazeera ban should oppose censorship at home
Freedom of the Press Foundation
May 7, 2024
"al jazeera english newsroom" by Paul Keller is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Press freedom advocates widely condemned Israel’s ban of news service Al Jazeera from operating within its borders. But Israel isn’t the only country empowering its government to silence the press.
Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) Advocacy Director Seth Stern wrote for The Guardian that the episode could portend future abuses in the U.S., where a flurry of bills and court cases — from the TikTok ban to the Julian Assange prosecution — make it easier for officials to censor and intimidate journalists.
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“[President] Biden and many other Democrats constantly warn that Donald Trump would behave like an authoritarian in a potential second term. Yet they insist on continuing to hand him new powers to abuse, particularly against his favorite scapegoat: the press.
“Anyone who doubts that Trump or future presidents will abuse those powers should view the weekend’s events in Israel as a cautionary tale.”
Read the full op-ed here.