‘Chilling, Undemocratic, Totalitarian’: White House Bars Critical News Outlets

New York Times, CNN, Los Angeles Times, and Politico all reportedly barred from afternoon gaggle.

Common Dreams
By Common Dreams
White House press secretary Sean Spicer speaks to reporters on Air Force One en route to Andrews Air Force Base, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017, from Philadelphia. (AP /Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Update: The White House's decision to selectively bar certain news outlets from a Friday afternoon off-camera briefing with press secretary Sean Spicer has been decried as "undemocratic and unacceptable;" "chilling;" and "totalitarian." Not to mention "stupid." CNNcalled it "an unacceptable development by the Trump White House. Apparently

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Inside Trump’s Orwellian War With The Media

Outright Lies, Constant Tweets & “Alternative Facts.”

Democracy Now
By Democracy Now
An image of the inauguration of President Donald Trump is displayed behind White House press secretary Sean Spicer as he speaks at the White House, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, in Washington. (AP/Andrew Harnik)

We turn now to look at President Trump, the media and what the new administration calls "alternative facts." On Saturday, in his first full day in office, Trump visited CIA headquarters. Speaking in front of the CIA Memorial Wall, he told the agency he had a running war with the media. Hours later, Trump then ordered his new press secretary, Sean

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Israel Issues New Directive To Its ‘Free Press’: ‘Censorship: The Freedom To Speak Responsibly!’

As Israel expands the scope of what might be considered a ‘security matter,’ the country’s bloggers and social media activists must now seek approval to publish almost anything any self-respecting journalist would hope to cover in a true democratic state.

Richard Silverstein
By Richard Silverstein
Israeli's read the morning paper on Ben Yehuda Street. Israel’s new military censor, Col. Ariella Ben Avraham, has mandated expanded monitoring and censorship of Israeli media, requiring social media activists and bloggers to have 'security related content' vetted by the government.

SEATTLE --- Israel’s new military censor, Col. Ariella Ben Avraham, has greatly expanded the scope of her brief in monitoring Israeli media by requiring social media activists and bloggers to submit “security-related material” for approval prior to posting. In the past, the Israeli Defense Forces censors have confined themselves to overseeing

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Mohammed Al-Qeeq: A Casualty Of Israel’s War On Journalists

As of Wednesday, al-Qeeq had survived 57 days of hunger striking against his administrative detention in Israel. Fighting his indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial, the Palestinian journalist is facing medical abuse.

Mohammed al-Qeeq, a married father of two who works as a journalist in Ramallah has been held under a six-month Israeli administrative detention order without charge or trial, along with 660 other Palestinians.

UNITED NATIONS --- As a Palestinian journalist nears his third month of an indefinite hunger strike, supporters say his administrative detention – incarceration by order of the Israeli military in the occupied West Bank, without defined charges or a legal process – reflects broader Israeli attempts to impede reporting by Palestinians. “Mohammed

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Photographer Shot By Israeli Forces, Refused Treatment

“I raised my camera to my right eye to take a picture, but a soldier shot me in my left eye with his rifle, and the rubber bullet went through my gas mask’s glass eye cover and into my eye.”

IMEMC News
By IMEMC News
Israeli soldiers walks near the border with Syria near the site of a Sunday Israeli airstrike, in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, Monday, April 27, 2015

Tel Aviv, Israel (IMEMC) – Israeli security forces fire tear gas towards Palestinian protesters on May 16, 2015 next to Huwarra checkpoint south of Nablus. Israel has barred a Palestinian photographer allegedly shot in the eye by Israeli forces from entering occupied East Jerusalem for specialist treatment, the injured photographer told AFP on

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American Citizen Returns To US After 500-Day Hunger Strike In Egyptian Jail

When Mohamed Soltan arrived in Washington, he was greeted by a crowd of family, friends and activists, who had all been lobbying for his release since 2013.

Sean Nevins
By Sean Nevins
Egyptian-American Mohamed Soltan arriving in Dulles Airport on the day of his release, 30 May 2015

Egyptian-American Mohamed Soltan arriving in Dulles Airport on the day of his release, 30 May 2015 WASHINGTON --- Mohamed Soltan, an Egyptian-American activist and graduate of the Ohio State University, returned to the United States on Saturday after being held for almost two years by Egyptian authorities. During his imprisonment, Soltan

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