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Judi Lynn

(160,217 posts)
Tue Jun 2, 2020, 11:13 PM Jun 2020

Brazil: Media freedom at crisis point as Government fails to protect journalists

ARTICLE 19

2 June 2020

3 minute read

https://ifex.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/brazil-bolsonaro-attacks-journalists-getty.webp

razil’s President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to journalists at the Presidential Residence in Alvorada Palace, Brasilia, 22 May 2020, Andre Borges/NurPhoto

Brazil: Media freedom at crisis point as Government fails to protect journalists
ARTICLE 19 has warned that the situation for journalists is at crisis level in Brazil as the Government fails to protect journalists from threats and attacks by Bolsonaro supporters.

This statement was originally published on article19.org on 2 June 2020.

ARTICLE 19 has warned that the situation for journalists is at crisis level in Brazil as the Government fails to protect journalists from threats and attacks by Bolsonaro supporters.

The warning comes after three media outlets, Globo, Folha, and Metropoles, have announced that their journalists will no longer be able to report from the presidential residence in Brasilia due to the high risk of attacks from supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro.

In public statements, the media companies reported that a group of Bolsonaro supporters are attempting to intimidate journalists who are reporting at the presidential residence. Separated only by a small grid, the Bolsonaro supporters are able to verbally abuse, threaten and doxx journalists who are trying to report on the President’s actions. The Union of Professional Journalists in Brasilia has said that it has received dozens of complaints from its members about the threats they face. As the authorities are failing to protect reporters, the media outlets have had no choice but to stop reporting from the presidential residence.

Director of ARTICLE 19 South America, Denise Dora said:

“The decision to remove journalists from the presidential residence for their own safety is unprecedented, and shows that press freedom in Brazil is in crisis.

More:
https://ifex.org/brazil-media-freedom-at-crisis-point-as-government-fails-to-protect-journalists/

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