Media Capitulates as Trump Escalates Legal Pressure on the Press
A major settlement fuels fears of a chilling precedent, as the administration ramps up efforts to punish critical coverage and silence dissent.
Press freedom advocates are sounding the alarm following Paramount's $16 million settlement with President Trump, arguing the deal sets a dangerous new precedent, particularly for smaller outlets with fewer legal resources. A steady decline in media trust, coupled with enormous financial challenges, has made the press more vulnerable to political pressure campaigns than ever before. The deal has drawn outrage from critics who believe Paramount could have won what they believe is a frivolous lawsuit. While the size of the agreement is nearly identical to ABC's settlement with Trump last year, Paramount is under fire because its deal comes as the company seeks regulatory approval for its $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. The Knight Institute said Paramount's legal exposure was "negligible," and argued it should've fought the case in court. PEN America, another press freedom group, said Paramount "caved to presidential pressure" and "chose appeasement to bolster its finances." The Wall Street Journal editorial board on Wednesday noted that this moment feels like a turning point for press freedom. "President Trump has taunted the media for years, and some of his jibes are deserved given the groupthink in most newsrooms. What's happening now, though, is different: The President is using government to intimidate news outlets that publish stories he doesn't like. It's a low move in a free country with a free press," it wrote. The settlement comes as the administration ramps up its efforts to target the press. Most recently, Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have endorsed the idea of prosecuting CNN for its critical coverage of U.S. strikes in Iran and its immigration reporting. Trump also suggested he could demand journalists reveal their sources in light of the Iran intel leak. In April, the Justice Department repealed protections for journalist-source confidentiality. The White House has already banned the AP over its editorial standards. It's also pushing Congress to gut funding for public media. The FCC has launched investigations into the DEI policies of Comcast/NBCU and Disney/ABC. The Paramount settlement is the latest in a slew of recent examples that show just how desperate media companies are to survive political and economic pressure. Those concessions are happening amid a historic drop in trust of mainstream media, making it harder for newsrooms to rally public support. Only 31% of Americans say they have a great deal or a fair amount of trust in the mass media, down from 50% 20 years ago and 40% a decade ago, according to a Gallup survey - Axios
At the recently concluded ZEG Storytelling Festival in Georgia, Atlantic writer Jon Lee Anderson urged media workers to adopt a more militant stance when under attack by enemies of press freedom, such as Donald Trump. “When you’re told you’re fake news, you need to speak up,” Anderson said, calling for journalists to resist intimidation with greater force and unity. He cited a recent incident aboard Air Force One, where Trump hurled accusations at the press—yet none of the reporters onboard responded. “Not a peep,” he noted, criticizing the silence as symptomatic of a media culture that too often absorbs abuse without pushback. He added that what has become clear from his second term is that Trump is more in charge of the messaging than ever before. This is a tendency among autocrats everywhere, he added.
“President Trump has taunted the media for years, and some of his jibes are deserved given the groupthink in most newsrooms. What's happening now, though, is different: The President is using government to intimidate news outlets that publish stories he doesn't like. It's a low move in a free country with a free press” - Wall Street Journal editorial board
Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has died in a car crash in Spain. The car left the road due to a tyre blowout while overtaking another car, local police say - pictures from the road show burned grass on the verge. His brother, Andre Silva, also died in the crash. Jota, 28, married his partner last month - the couple had three children together. The Portuguese international was a key part of the Liverpool side that won the Premier League last season, and earlier played for Wolves and Porto. Liverpool FC say they are "devastated" by what they call an "unimaginable loss", Cristiano Ronaldo says "it doesn't make sense", while the Portuguese federation says Jota was "an extraordinary person" - BBC
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed Thursday afternoon that Maj. Gen. Mikhail Gudkov, deputy head of the Russian navy, was killed Wednesday in Russia’s Kursk region. News of Gudkov’s death surfaced Wednesday evening among Russian military bloggers. More than 10 officers, including Gudkov, were reportedly killed in a Ukrainian missile strike on a Russian command post. Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on the news. Before his appointment as deputy commander in chief of the navy in March, Gudkov led the 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, which was accused by Kyiv officials and military bloggers of repeatedly committing war crimes in Ukraine, including executing and beheading prisoners of war. Gudkov is one of the highest-ranking military officials killed by Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion in February 2022 - Politico
Russian forces have become adept at retooling Iranian kamikaze Shahed drones, making them more deadly and less vulnerable to Ukrainian defenses, according to Kyiv. Forensic expert Oleksandr Vysikan of the Kyiv Research Institute of Forensic Examinations surveys the wreckage of kamikaze drones after Russian strikes. He says Moscow continues to upgrade its domestically manufactured unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). “[Russian forces] now use a more powerful warhead. We see that they have changed the design and some electronics because of the different warhead,” Vysikan told RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service. The modernized Shahed drones also feature a range of advanced technologies, including protected 16-channel satellite antennas, making it harder for Ukrainian electronic warfare systems to work effectively against them. “More channels mean more electronic jamming is needed [to block the signal],” Vysikan said. “But the internal electronics are the biggest difference between the versions of this drone. They have completely changed.” A notable new feature seen on many drones is a secondary navigation system using Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technology. This allows operators to track the UAVs in real time using mobile networks, even if the primary navigation system is scrambled. "This system enables the drone’s path and behavior to be monitored remotely. If it deviates or crashes, operators know it was neutralized," Vysikan explained. Despite international sanctions aimed at choking off Russia's access to Western technologies, foreign-made components -- originating from countries like the United States, the Netherlands, Malaysia, and China -- are still routinely found in Russian-manufactured drones. Meanwhile, Moscow continues to find ways to circumvent sanctions and obtain foreign parts. According to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), the Russian military began to regularly use Shahed drones to attack Ukraine in the second half of 2022. At that time, these were Iranian-made drones; around 2,000 were delivered to Russia already assembled. Later, Russia established its own drone assembly system from ready-made parts delivered from Iran. Over time, Russia was able to establish a fully domestic production cycle. Currently, according to the SBU, more than 27,000 drones have been produced by Russian enterprises, with hundreds reportedly used to attack the Ukrainian capital amid a recent surge in air strikes all over Ukraine - RFE/RL
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