“RSF analysed Javier Milei’s X account between April and May 2026 and found that in 47 days, Argentina’s head of state posted 1,674 posts attacking journalists and the media, including reposts — which is more than what Elon Musk posts against the press in a year(opens in new tab). These staggering figures illustrate the extent of the Argentine president’s fixation with journalists, whom he regularly insults by calling them ‘basuras inmundas,’ or ‘disgusting trash.’
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The most prominent category of Javier Milei’s attacks on the press is accusations and insinuations that journalists are corrupt, showing up in 498 out of the 1,674 hateful posts . The Argentine president, who figures on RSF’s list of press freedom predators(opens in new tab), claims his administration has ‘eliminated’ government advertising and, because of this, journalists bribed by regional governments and private companies have sought revenge by spreading false information about him.
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But for Javier Milei, almost all Argentine journalists are adversaries. He even has a statistic of his own, seemingly plucked out of thin air: 95%(opens in new tab) of those who practice journalism in Argentina are ‘lying trash,’ ‘a bunch of criminals(opens in new tab)’ whose job is to ‘lie with impunity’ and ‘corrupt people hooked on pauta and bribes(opens in new tab).’ This number has become a recurring hallmark of the Argentine president’s posts.”
