The global press freedom ranking by NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) confirmed a perceived trend in Latin America: a general worsening of conditions for the exercise of journalism on the continent. Of the 24 countries in the region analyzed, 19 lost points in the RSF survey.
Two reports by press freedom organizations conclude that 2020 was the most dangerous year for professional journalism in recent Brazilian history. Despite the different methodologies, in the two surveys, President Jair Bolsonaro, his children, ministers and the Presidency's Communication Secretariat appear as the main sources of the attacks.
The Brazilian documentary “A Verdade da Mentira” (The Truth of the Lie) follows the work of several professionals who worked to combat disinformation during the 2018 presidential election to understand how this kind of content spreads.
The Brazilian president's threat of physical violence against a journalist who asked him a question puts the conflictual relationship that he has had with the press since before becoming president on a different level, according to press freedom organizations.
All the president’s attacks: Coping with governments that weaponize social media and campaign against independent media
Brazilian journalist Bianca Santos filed a complaint July 7 with the United Nations Human Rights Commission against President Jair Bolsonaro. Nineteen nongovernmental organizations subscribed to the complaint.
On World Press Freedom Day, Brazilian journalists were attacked, insulted and expelled from a Brasilia demonstration in favor of the Jair Bolsonaro government and against Congress and the Federal Supreme Court.
After more than a year of expectation, the debut of CNN Brasil had much celebration and impact on social networks, but it also received criticism for cold content, little questioning in an interview with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
According to Fenaj's president, Maria José Braga, this is the first time the entity has carried out this kind of monitoring with a president. She stated that today there is an institutionalization of attacks on the press
Brazil’s Secretary of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic, Fábio Wajngarten, accused Folha de S. Paulo of “defending a conspiracy for the exit” of President Jair Bolsonaro, and of “preaching disrespect, lies and frustrated attempts to demoralize him” in an article published in the newspaper Dec. 2.