Lena Rivera
Several leaders have attempted to paint the media as the enemy, notably Donald Trump, who has referred to the media as the enemy of the people and fake news. Trump's administration has been accused of undermining the media and spreading misinformation, with the president tweeting criticism of the media almost daily. Other leaders who have branded the media as the enemy include Richard Nixon, Mao Zedong, Hugo Chavez, Robert Mugabe, and Recep Erdogan. This tactic is often used to delegitimize the press and spread confusion among the public, with Trump's actions drawing comparisons to Nixon's treatment of the media during the Watergate Scandal.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Casting journalists as "enemy combatants" | Donald Trump |
| Treating correspondents as legitimate targets | Richard Nixon |
| Sowing distrust in media outlets | Donald Trump |
| Delegitimizing journalists, reporting and facts | Donald Trump |
| Keeping an "enemies list" | Richard Nixon |
| Calling the media "hostile and biased" | Benjamin Netanyahu |
| Suppressing opposition | Myanmar's former military junta |
| Branding the media as "elites" | Benjamin Netanyahu |
| Controlling the leader's image | Xi Jinping |
| Criminalizing contradiction of official statements | Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi |
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What You'll Learn
Donald Trump's war on the media
Since his entry into politics, Donald Trump has been at war with the media. He has a history of lambasting the media as "fake news" and the ""enemy of the people". This effort is widely seen as an attempt to sow distrust in media outlets and delegitimize journalists, their reporting, and even facts themselves.
Trump's war on the media is not without precedent. The former US president Richard Nixon also referred to the press as the ""enemy", and Trump appears to be reaching for a similar playbook. Nixon tried to abuse the federal licensing process to pressure TV networks and kept an ""enemies list"" that included journalist Daniel Schorr.
Trump's anti-media rhetoric has alarmed political commentators and freedom of speech advocates. His supporters have also taken up arms against the media, casting journalists as enemy combatants and carrying out ""oppo research"" to compile dossiers on individual reporters in an attempt to discredit them.
In response to Trump's attacks, hundreds of newspapers across the country have run simultaneous editorials defending freedom of the press and deploring Trump's identification of the media as an enemy of the American people. Despite this show of solidarity, Trump has only intensified his anti-media blitzkrieg, and his war on the media appears to be winning. Official coverage of White House activities has been opened to various new media individuals and groups with no history of impartial journalism, and who appear to be selected entirely for their willingness to ask Trump sycophantic questions.
Trump's war on the media has had a chilling effect on American journalism, with scores of once-powerful regional newspapers and television stations declining or closing.
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Richard Nixon's 'enemy' list
Richard Nixon's "Enemies List" refers to a series of documents used by White House staff to identify and track Nixon's major political opponents. The term usually refers to the names published in newspapers in 1973, though there is only one short list that can confidently be called a White House enemies list. The list was part of a campaign officially known as the "Opponents List and Political Enemies Project".
The list was composed of Nixon's political enemies, including journalists, congressmen, businessmen, and entertainers. The list was created by Nixon's aides, with the intention of using the Internal Revenue Service to harass his political opponents. The official purpose, as described by the White House Counsel's Office, was to screw Nixon's political enemies by means of tax audits and manipulating grant availability, federal contracts, litigation, and prosecution.
The list was first mentioned in public in 1973, though it was created in 1971 as a short memo of 20 names, including actor Paul Newman and Washington Post columnist Mary McGrory. The list eventually grew into several compendiums, totalling hundreds of names, encompassing politicians, media figures, celebrities, labour leaders, activists, scholars, and businesspeople.
The list was revealed in the 1973 proceedings of the Senate Watergate Committee, adding to the growing Watergate scandal that would push Nixon from office the following year. The list is now part of American culture, with Nixon's name becoming synonymous with the idea of an "enemies list".
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Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi's restrictive press conferences
Several leaders have been accused of waging a war on the media, including Donald Trump, Richard Nixon, and Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi.
El-Sisi, the current president of Egypt, has been criticized for his restrictive approach to press conferences. He rarely holds news conferences, and when he does, it is usually only when hosting a foreign leader. During these conferences, el-Sisi and his guest typically read statements and leave, without fielding questions from the press. This has left the Egyptian media relying heavily on el-Sisi's off-the-cuff comments in televised events.
El-Sisi's approach to the media stands in stark contrast to his behaviour when travelling abroad, particularly in the United States. While abroad, he gives multiple interviews and appears tolerant of tough questions. However, reporters in Egypt often face harassment from the police and hostile civilians. Furthermore, a "terror law" criminalizes many cases of media outlets contradicting official statements.
El-Sisi's restrictive press conferences can be understood in the context of his broader governing style, which has been described as authoritarian by some observers. He has spoken nostalgically of the era when the press rallied behind Gamal Abdel-Nasser, an authoritarian leader who ruled Egypt from 1956 to 1970. El-Sisi's rise to power was marked by his removal of the democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, in a 2013 coup d'état. This was followed by violent dispersals of protesters and international criticism.
El-Sisi's actions and statements suggest a leader who seeks to control the narrative and limit dissent. By restricting press conferences and criminalizing certain types of reporting, he ensures that the Egyptian media has limited access to him and relies heavily on his off-the-cuff comments. This allows el-Sisi to shape the narrative and present himself in a favourable light, while also avoiding tough questions and scrutiny from journalists.
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Xi Jinping's state-run media
Several leaders throughout history have attempted to paint the media as the enemy. Most recently, former US President Donald Trump waged a "war on the media", referring to journalists as "the enemy of the people". Trump's anti-media rhetoric has been compared to that of former US President Richard Nixon, who also considered the press an adversary.
Other leaders who have been hostile towards the media include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Turkish President Recep Erdogan, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Mao Zedong of China, and Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt.
Xi Jinping, the current leader of China, has a complex relationship with the media. On the one hand, Xi has utilized state-run media to promote himself and his policies, such as his desire to create a more "trustworthy, respectable, and lovable" image for China, and his emphasis on "baseline thinking" in foreign policy. Xi has also been quoted as saying that the role of state-run media in China is to protect the ruling Communist Party's authority and to pledge loyalty to him.
Under Xi's leadership, there has been a significant increase in censorship and mass surveillance, with searches for certain terms related to Xi on Weibo, a popular Chinese microblogging platform, being blocked without explanation. Xi has also embraced assimilationist policies towards ethnic minorities and has promoted a socially conservative view, calling for "a new marriage and childbirth culture".
However, some sources indicate that Xi's power may be waning, as he has been relatively absent from authoritative media, with no references to him or his eponymous ideology in coverage of crucial trade talks and other important events.
In conclusion, while Xi Jinping has certainly exerted control over state-run media in China, his complex relationship with the media also involves censorship and a potential decline in his influence.
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Benjamin Netanyahu's media portrayal
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has had a complicated relationship with the media. He has been accused of waging a decade-long campaign to undermine Israel's independent media and destroy the free press in the country. Netanyahu has embraced social media, frequently posting self-serving videos and statements on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. He has also been criticised for attempting to control the news media by banning or boycotting news organisations whose reporting he disagrees with, while promoting outlets that follow the official line.
Netanyahu has a history of deriding the mainstream media, calling them "elites" who disdain him and his nationalist supporters. He has also likened the media to "Pravda" and accused them of being a "deep state" entity working against him. During his time in office, Netanyahu has been investigated by the Israeli police in two connected cases, "Case 1000" and "Case 2000", which have further strained his relationship with the media. "Case 1000" involves suspicions that Netanyahu obtained inappropriate favors from businessmen, while "Case 2000" involves alleged attempts to strike a deal with a newspaper publisher for favourable political coverage.
Netanyahu is known for his careful cultivation of his public image. In the early 1980s, he made a name for himself as a telegenic young diplomat in Washington and at the United Nations, using his fluency in English to shape international opinion on Israel. He kept a list of the country's media elites, whom he courted assiduously. Netanyahu is also known for his preference for conducting rare interviews with foreign TV networks, as it allows him to control the agenda and avoid editing of his answers.
Netanyahu's government has been criticised for restricting journalists' access to Gaza and targeting individual reporters, such as Raviv Drucker, who broke a story that led to one of the corruption cases against the prime minister. Netanyahu's actions and statements have led to concerns about the state of press freedom in Israel, with critics alleging that he is attempting to intimidate and discredit journalists.
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Frequently asked questions
Former US President Donald Trump has been known to refer to the media as the "enemy of the people" and "fake news".
Yes, former President Richard Nixon also referred to the press as the "enemy".
Yes, the phrase has been used by several leaders including Mao Zedong, Hugo Chavez, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Xi Jinping, and Benjamin Netanyahu.
The use of this phrase is often seen as an attempt to delegitimize the media and spread confusion among the public about what information can be trusted. Leaders who use this phrase are often trying to intimidate journalists and portray them as partisan players rather than neutral observers.
