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Trump Urges Tehran to Let Reporters 'Roam Free,' Drawing Criticism, Some
Praise

Pete Cobus

   WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump drew both criticism and a
   small measure of credit after taking to Twitter to chastise Iranian
   leaders over press restrictions in the Islamic Republic, whose recent
   acknowledgment that it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet,
   killing all 176 aboard, has triggered massive street protests.

   "To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS," Trump Tweeted
   in both Farsi and English late on Saturday. "Thousands have already
   been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More
   importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let
   reporters roam free!"

     To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have
     already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching.
     More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on
     and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian
     people!
     -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [1]January 12, 2020

   Critics such as Trump's Republican presidential challenger Bill Weld, a
   former Massachusetts governor, were quick to lampoon the irony of Trump
   remarks defending a free press.

   "The one bit of good news today is we know that [Trump] wants reporters
   to roam free in Iran,"Weld said of Trump's Tweet while appearing on
   CNN.

   "The only problem is he doesn't want them to roam free in the U.S.,
   because he says to us a free press is the 'enemy of the people'," said
   Weld.

   Since assuming office in 2017, multiple [2]news outletshave [3]noted a
   correlation between Trump's contempt for mainstream media outlets, and
   how the use of specific terms such as 'fake news' have subsequently
   [4]gained traction abroad.

   CNN's Brian Stelter, who routinely skewers Trump's combative stance
   against Western media outlets, offered the president reserved praise
   for his recent Iran Tweets.

   "President Trump supporting press freedom -- not in the United States,
   but in Iran," [5]Stetler said in the opening segment of Reliable
   Sources.

   "And Trump is right about press restrictions in the country," Stetler
   said, referring to research by the [6]Committee to Protect Journalist's
   "10 Most Censored Countries" list.

   "He's right that reporters aren't always allowed to roam free, in fact
   it's quite bleak," he said. "Journalists in the country are frequently
   arrested, jailed, and when you are trying to report in Iran, you
   typically have freedom of movement in Tehran, the capital, but it's
   another thing to get permission to go to other parts of the country."

   In that regard, he added, "the president is clearly hearing the voices
   of the protesters there."

References

   1. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1216356280933273600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trump-is-spreading-his-fake-news-rhetoric-around-the-world-thats-dangerous/2019/11/19/a7b0a4c6-0af5-11ea-97ac-a7ccc8dd1ebc_story.html
   3. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/30/trump-media-fake-news-750536
   4. https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/trump-fake-news-global-impact-libya-royhingya.php
   5. https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2020/01/12/trump-iran-journalists-stelter-rs-vpx.cnn
   6. https://cpj.org/reports/2019/09/10-most-censored-eritrea-north-korea-turkmenistan-journalist.php

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