To think this is scary? (Trump related)

[Bestthingever]

I have just read that the White House held a press briefing yesterday and excluded major news organisations like the BBC, CNN and the New York Times. I'm sorry I don't know how to post links, maybe someone else does. These organisations have obviously run stories critical of Trump. A media which challenges and questions government is part of having a healthy democracy. The media may get it wrong sometimes and may be heavily biased and it is our responsibility as citizens to be aware of bias etc. However for the executive branch to start excluding the media outlets he doesn't like because they are unfavourable to him is scary and I'm worried the US at the top of a slippery slope. As someone said (I forget the name) 'I don't agree with what you say but I'll die for your right to say it.' Allowing opinions we don't like is a keystone of democracy.

Here's a link from BBC: White House briefing bar: Media groups condemn exclusion

YANBU. It's ridiculous. Is he going to keep excluding more and more journalists as they offend him?

I don't think he's ever forgiven the Beeb for screening You've Been Trumped

Isn't this how dictatorships begin?

Ban anyone who offers criticism or objection, and hit the public with propaganda and whitewash so that they only ever hear what the dictator wants them to hear.

It's incredibly worrying.

He's effectively banning freedom of opinion/speech. He's already antagonising other world leaders and inciting hatred and racism. Next will be picking fights and starting wars.

Thiose who voted him to run for
Office and then who voted him in have a lot to answer for. It's a frightening time for the whole world imo.

Why did they bar the Daily Faily though? What have they done to piss on his chips - not right wing enough??

Yanbu, just on the basis of thread title- I didn't need to read the op (but Yanbu about that too)

I didnt know about this, thanks op

When all this fake news stuff started, I thought how on earth would this work, why do people lie when we have the Internet and can easily check facts. But it does work. Many people seem to believe everything he says even when it can be proven to be untrue. They'll be thinking that he's perfectly justified in doing this. There's none so blind as those who will not see.

BBC are a bunch of bias idiots... no loss there!

very scary. He gets scarier. Why is he being allowed so much free reign to do these things? Surely there are powers to prevent this? I'm just trying to work out how much he can do in 4 years if this is what he has managed in a few weeks.

Creampastry, well done on only focusing on your opinion about one media outlet, instead of the bigger picture here . Fox News are a bunch of biased idiots as well, as an overview, but that's ok?

Daily Fail would have been banned after the story they wrote about his wife's past.

Thanks for the heads up, yes this is worrying. Is Kim Jong Il his role model?

Frightening. It's a joe.co.uk link, for anyone worried.

He doesn't want false statements, false narratives 'out there'.

Right. So a reputation as a dictator is OK then.

They really don't have a clue do they?
Or maybe it's just that they don't care.
Sean Spicer always comes across to me as being out of his depth, what does he honestly think this will achieve?

Off to find the trump thread...

Whatever your opinion of the BBC, CNN, Buzzfeed and the New York Times, you have to be pig-shit stupid to think this is acceptable. This is the stuff of dictators.

Fortunately for Trump, there are a lot of pig-shit stupid people around.

Also agree bbc and also cnn are a bunch of biased idiots.

Trump does not have authority to do what he wants to do. He tried with executive orders, but there are still people in the other two branches of government who will do what is right. But Republicans control Congress and Trump is appointing conservatives to the Supreme Court. We have to continue to rely on conservative Republicans to do the right thing when Trump does the wrong thing. So far, there have been enough of them to do it.

After rising to power, Trump states an emergency and a desire to help America as he attempts to use his power to abuse civil rights and remove enemies.

Trump is going to continue using the same playbook that got him elected, going to continue to ignore facts that he doesn't like. Let's hope checks and balances continue to work.

When he talks about 'fake news' I do think,well, yes there have been some simply massive porkies about certain events etc told by a media with an agenda .

But I have a horrible gut feeling that's not what he's talking about. He's talking about smaller media outlets that question that agenda with the view to clamping down on them. We're entering a Cromwellian period methinks...

I'm not denying most outlets are biased or have their own agenda. You always have to bear that in mind when reading or watching news. In my opinion, this is why you need to have a plurality of viewpoints in the media. What's interesting is that all that's happened about this press briefing is that the outlets which have been excluded have reported on it. I think if it happened in the UK , the NUJ would kick up a stink.

Dictatorship. Hopefully leading to impeachment.

Also agree bbc and also cnn are a bunch of biased idiots.

This

The scariest thing when the orange Overlord talks....we live in the media age. Every God damn thing he says is recorded for television. It seems apparently enough people still support him.

I am no fan of Trump, but the way the media have treated him is disgusting.Bullying..i am not surprised he has shut them out.

Banning the Beeb sounds good to me.