Introducing: Center for Public Integrity

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Freedom of the press has long been a contested right. Enshrined into the U.S. constitution in 1788, the 1st Amendment rules that “congress shall make no law […] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press”.(1) However, the Sedition Act of 1798 soon followed, making “criminal, inter alia, malicious writings which defamed, brought into contempt or disrepute, or excited the hatred of the people against the Government, the President, or the Congress, or which stirred people to sedition”.(2) Signed into law by Federalist president John Adams, this was presented as limiting the harmful fabrication of news (which was rife in the 18th century). However, it was utilised by the then-Federalist government to suppress critical statements made by their adversaries, prosecute news printers that aired unapproved-of opinions, and to spread false news of their own. The use of the Sedition Act for political purposes backfired in quite a spectacular fashion, as the electorate revolted against the limitation of press freedom, and the Act’s successful passing contributed to Adams’ failed re-election bid and the national decline of the Federalist Party.(3)

Since his election campaign, a similar problem has emerged as Trump continuously denigrates the quality of the news from established news sites such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, ABC and CBS, plus bars reporters from press briefings.(4)(5) Claiming that investigative reporting and news stories which portray him negatively are fabricated, Trump has accused the mainstream media of being “fake news” outlets in tweets such as “FAKE NEWS CNN & NBC” (6) as recently as 27 Jan 2019. While he has declared that “false reporting, dishonest reporting … is what is tearing this country apart”(5), Trump simultaneously uses his own platform to spread conspiracy theories and misleading statements.(7) (8) He has, on multiple occasions, claimed that “Fake News is the Enemy of the People!”(6) (8) (9) These attacks on the press are politically motivated, as they discredit reporting that criticises Trump’s actions, policies or rhetoric, encourage Trump’s supporters in despising the media for its perceived liberal bias, undermine Trump’s opponents, and distract the public from demanding that Trump to be held accountable for his own false statements.(3) Moreover, Trump has issued tweets and made statements in a rally claiming that he is going to “open up” US libel laws so that he can sue media outlets for horrible or inaccurate reports, and threatened to challenge NBC’s broadcasting license.(3) (10) (11)

The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organisation that seeks to protect democracy by uncovering abuses of power and betrayals of public trust. Founded in 1989 by veteran journalist Charles Lewis, the CPI is comprised of reporters, editors and data journalists who deliver national and international investigative journalism of enduring significance on the topics of business, environment, immigration, politics, national security and workers rights.(12) The CPI subscribes to the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists, and in order to maintain its non-partisan stance, all staff are prohibited from engaging in political advocacy or donating to political candidates at any level of government.(13) At a time when the accuracy and motivations of the press is questioned, it is all the more important to support truthful and well-researched reporting as exemplified by the CPI.

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Citations:

[1] “First Amendment - U.S. Constitution.” Find Law, https://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment1.html
[2] “Seditious Speech and Seditious Libel.” Find Law, https://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment1/annotation18.html#2
[3] Taylor, Jordan E. “Why Trump’s assault on NBC and “fake news” threatens freedom of the press — and his political future.” The Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2017/10/12/why-trumps-assault-on-nbc-and-fake-news-threatens-freedom-of-the-press-and-his-political-future/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.caeb3873ae21
[4] Simon, Joel. “Trump Is Damaging Press Freedom in the U.S. and Abroad.” The New York Times, 25 Feb. 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/25/opinion/trump-is-damaging-press-freedom-in-the-us-and-abroad.html.
[5] “Trump on fake news, freedom of the press.” FoxNews, 18 Nov 2018,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMgJnnG-NqI.
[6] @realDonaldTrump. “FAKE NEWS CNN & NBC.” Twitter, 27 Jan 2019
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1089691564283183105
[7] Zarroli, Jim. “Economists Warn: Trump 'Promotes Magical Thinking And Conspiracy Theories'.” New Orleans Public Radio, 1 Nov. 2016, https://www.wwno.org/post/economists-warn-trump-promotes-magical-thinking-and-conspiracy-theories.
[8] Tapper, Jake. “Trump's history of promoting false theories.” CNN, https://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/10/29/donald-trump-conspiracy-theories-tapper-pkg-vpx-lead.cnn.
[9] @realDonaldTrump. “Fake News is the Enemy of the People!” Twitter, 27 Jan 2019
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1089545436220850177
[10] @realDonaldTrump. “The failing @nytimes has disgraced the media world. Gotten me wrong for two solid years. Change libel laws?” Twitter, 30 March 2017, https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/847455180912181249.
[11] Gold, Hadas. “Donald Trump: We're going to 'open up' libel laws.” Politico, 26 Feb 2016, https://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/02/donald-trump-libel-laws-219866.
[12] “About Us.” The Center for Public Integrity, https://publicintegrity.org/about.
[13] “Editorial Policies.” The Center for Public Integrity, https://publicintegrity.org/about/editorial-policies/.