Trump and allies are waging campaign against media to stifle dissent - experts

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: The Guardian

Sat 21 Dec 2024 08.00 EST


Donald Trump and his allies have started to wage a campaign against media organisations in the US that are critical of the president-elect by launching lawsuits that media experts warn are designed to stifle dissent and potentially put them out of business.

The tactic appears to be to aggressively pursue legal action against news organisations – which Trump has long dubbed “enemies of the people” – by asking for often hefty sums in damages. The cases are launched even if the odds of success sometimes appear long, because even an unsuccessful court action can be expensive for a cash-strapped media company and act as a deterrent.

“The recent spate of lawsuits that he has filed, and his public threat to ‘straighten out the press’, do seem to signal an increased effort by Trump and his allies to go after the press through lawsuits,” said Anna Diakun, staff attorney and managing attorney, fellowship program, for the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

Last week alone saw several developments that deeply worry defenders of press freedom in the US. Trump sued Iowa pollster J Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register newspaper for alleged “brazen election interference” in a civil suit that shocked free speech defenders. One advocate said the suit was potentially “the most appalling example” of Trump’s efforts to weaponize courts against opponents.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/21/trump-media-assault-silence-criticism

[BOSSHOG]

1. Don't tell the truth about me

I’ll sue you. Chickenshit caucus.

[NotHardly]

39. We'll find out pretty quickly with media has balls and those that do not.

[J_William_Ryan]

2. "...designed to stifle dissent and potentially put them out of business."

Classic tactic of the fascist right.

[DENVERPOPS]

13. I was gonna say

Thinks he is already president, Thinks he is already a Tyrant.......

Truly a Frankenstein's Monster, Created by the Republican Politicians, and now un-controlable and answering to no one.....

[NotHardly]

18. "From day one...."

...this is the result of a corrupted Supreme Court and billionaire boys club.

[Lovie777]

3. The USA media is all in with the it....

[Magoo48]

23. The MSM self-desisted 20 fucking years ago.

[ificandream]

25. Self- what??

[Magoo48]

30. What's wrong with self-desisted?

Self censored? They shitcanned their fucking journalists, hired windup, talking heads who think in depth is splashing in the kiddy pool?

[ificandream]

31. Self-desisted isn't a word, that's what.

[Magoo48]

34. I like self-desisted. This is American English we speak. I can make up words if I want.

Did you understand what I meant?

[ificandream]

35. No.

And I would say a lot of Americans don't either. But hey ... make arguments no one can understand.

[Magoo48]

36. A bit of a rude grammarsnob too are we?

https://fb.watch/wEhEU7ouL0/?

[ificandream]

38. From my career in the media. So, yes.

[ificandream]

24. Good effing grief .... they definitely are not.

Despite the ludicrous ABC settlement, the media is on pins and needles over what might happen when he gets sworn in. Trump is trying to prevent any kind of Woodward-Bernstein stories while he's in office. I only hope they tell him to go f*** himself.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. They can't stifle, control, or intimidate non-American corporate media

and independent podcasts.

You'll have defections to BBC, The Guardian, The Independent, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, and various Youtube podcasts.

To paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt, "I can either control the media or I can run the country. I can't possibly do both."

[erronis]

6. they'll try. there can be selective economic and access actions against any outlets.

Frivolous lawsuits anywhere across the globe. Deny access to outlets that have ever voiced any criticisms.

If putin/musk are in charge, bodily damage to reporters and organizations.

[mwmisses4289]

5. So counter sue the c...p out of them.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

7. We'll just do the Gish Gallup of dissent like no one has ever seen before, frankly.*

So much dissent, his fucking head will spin.

*to borrow one of his favorite words!

[sakabatou]

8. "Freedom of the Press? Who needs that?" - Trump's cult, probably

[ificandream]

26. That's Trump's biggest enemy.

Gotta have their guns, but can't let the country have its press.

[JoseBalow]

9. Aren't SLAPP suits illegal?

[Roy Rolling]

10. Commercial Media

Commercial media are slaves to big money and advertisers. It’s always been that way, nothing new.

What’s new is commercial media companies siding with big money to stifle first amendment rights that will eventually kill themselves.

Trump U. Graduates, no doubt.

[ificandream]

27. No, they're not slaves. Not even close.

Yeah, the media has economic issues. And Trump is trying to take advantage of that. But there's enough of a resistance out there that it can't and won't be entirely successful. There will be Freedom Fighters who will battle him. And we the people need to be behind them. Unless people want to see their rights completely taken away.

[JohnnyRingo]

11. If Trump is filing frivolous lawsuits, he should be responsible for legal fees.

He should have to reimburse the lawyers the media companies had to hire. I actually thought that's how it works.

[Bo Zarts]

20. Trump is the quintesssential vexatious litigant.

"Vexatious litigation is legal action which is brought solely to harass or subdue an adversary. It may take the form of a primary frivolous lawsuit or may be the repetitive, burdensome, and unwarranted filing of meritless motions in a matter which is otherwise a meritorious cause of action. Filing vexatious litigation is considered an abuse of the judicial process and may result in sanctions against the offender.

A single action, even a frivolous one, is usually not enough to raise a litigant to the level of being declared vexatious. Rather, a pattern of frivolous legal actions is typically required to rise to the level of vexatious.. " Wikipedia

Repeated and severe instances by a single lawyer or firm can result in eventual disbarment.

[oldmanlynn]

12. We cannot let trump be successful at controlling the media.

When that happens our country is done. Full on Russian style dictatorship.

I hope media knows their role in democracy and i hope we have billionaires looking to help democracy.

[DENVERPOPS]

14. For the most part

The Pro-Republican Corporations and Republican Oligarchs ALREADY OWN/OPERATE the majority of the U.S. Media........

[ificandream]

28. Who told you that? The answer is they don't.

The papers that social media disparages .... like the NY Times and WashPost ... are our keys to freedom. Saying the media is completely non-functional is saying freedom is dead. And it's not ... not yet unless we let it die.

[Magoo48]

32. The billionaire owners already control it. Manipulated, censored, and invented on command.

[perdita9]

15. And after they put all that effort into sane washing him too!

Legacy media sowed the seeds of its own destruction.

[twodogsbarking]

16. The greatest threat to the world, hate.

[OldBaldy1701E]

40. Which makes us 'Public Enemy Number One' I am afraid.

No one employs hate more that the US. We hate anything that is not like us and that is not based in greedy capitalism. Hell, there are successful industries that are solely based on hate. They thrive here.

Being magnanimous is seen as a fault here (unless it gains one something). Being compassionate and understanding is also something seen as 'weak'. Hate seems to be the one thing we can all agree on (either as a useful tool or a destructive force, we still agree that it is something to keep in our society).

Freaking sad, isn't it?

[twodogsbarking]

42. It is often disguised to be somehing else. Peace to you.

[Dem4life1970]

17. Counter sue with damages....

Also, civil suits brought by the people. Individual states attorney generals should get involved if need be.

They are willing to let elementary school children fill up cemeteries all over the US to defend their interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and we are not willing to go to the mat to defend the first amendment? It is FIRST for a reason!

[turbinetree]

19. Here are two wonderful books to understand what the maga are doing and have been doing since Nixon...........

Ministry of Truth
Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past
By Steve Benen


and

The Unraveling
Reflections on Politics without Ethics and Democracy in Crisis
Bob Bauer - Foreword by Jon Meacham

[tonekat]

21. The WaPo has hobbled it's comments

With a silly AI program that doesn't allow likes.

And the NYT often doesn't allow comments on the most political stories, so it's creeping in, U.S. media is only too happy to fold.

[BComplex]

22. HE, and the republican enablers, ARE THE MEDIA'S FAULT!

They could seriously gang up on him LIKE THEY DO THE DEMOCRATS, and stop this nonsense. The problem is, the media IS trump...the owners/management are his supporters. They're trying to push another one off on the public as if they're the VICTIMS. They aren't. The media are the perps.

[Evolve Dammit]

29. Dictator 101. Buckle up.

[Kid Berwyn]

33. No Free Press?

No Democracy.

[Unladen Swallow]

37. "...and potentially put them out of business."

I fully support the complete and total annihilation of the corporate media machine in this country, regardless of who may ultimately be responsible for the miracle.

Then again, I abhor the litigious nature of our "sue everyone for everything" culture.

[ancianita]

41. If/when he loses these suits for failure to prove loss, harm, or damage, can't he be made to pay the defense's costs?