Tuesday, April 22, 2025

AMLO’s press conferences ‘instrument of misinformation:’ press freedom body

President López Obrador’s weekday press conferences constitute “a worrying instrument of misinformation,” according to a press freedom advocacy organization.

The president appears before reporters every weekday morning to respond to questions at a press briefing that sometimes lasts as long as three hours. He uses the mañanera, as his morning presser is colloquially known, to promote the government and deride his critics and political opponents, setting the daily news agenda in the process.

Reporters known to be friendly to the government are often given preferential treatment when it comes to the opportunity to query the president while those who ask critical questions run the risk of being branded as members of the “elitist” or “conservative” press.

In its 2020 annual report published Tuesday, Article 19 said that the content of López Obrador’s press conferences is little more than government propaganda.

“Over time, the mañanera has moved away from being a true space of information, transparency and accountability and become a space in which the agenda of the executive is … positioned [in a positive light] at any cost, even by sacrificing the truth about government performance,” said the report, entitled Distortion: Discourse against Reality.

“… We additionally note that it represents a worrying instrument of misinformation,” Article 19 added.

The organization also said that 2020 was the worst year ever for violence against media workers with a total of 692 acts of aggression, an increase of 13.6% compared to 2019. Article 19 partially attributed the rise to verbal attacks against the media by López Obrador and other federal officials.

Such attacks cause a “cascade effect” that leads to harassment, threats or worse, the organization said, noting that six journalists were killed last year and 17 have been murdered since López Obrador took office in late 2018.

Article 19 also criticized the government for not responding adequately to information requests made by members of the public. On 389 occasions last year, the government provided clearly incompetent responses to citizens’ questions, the group said.

“… This strategy to avoid compliance with its obligation shows that [access to government] information … is closed,” it said.

The federal government has also been criticized for its plan to dismantle the national transparency watchdog.

Six investigative journalists who spoke with the newspaper El Economista last month warned that incorporating the National Institute for Transparency and Access to Information, an autonomous body, into a government ministry or department would make accessing public information more difficult and pose a threat to their profession.

Source: Reforma (sp) 

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Kristi Noem in an anti-immigration ad from the U.S. government

Sheinbaum moves to ban foreign government propaganda after US anti-immigration ad airs on Mexican TV

19
A hostile video message narrated by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is widely seen as discriminatory, and according to the president, in violation of the Mexican Constitution.
Heat wave this week in Mexico

Cold front and heat wave collide, bringing high winds and hot temps

0
Northern states will get hit with chilly winds of up to 30 km/hr this week, while Mexico's central and southern states should prepare to feel the heat.
The Pope's 2016 visit to Mexico

Mexico mourns death of Pope Francis, Latin America’s first pontiff

6
In his 2016 papal visit, the Pope celebrated Mexico's abundant resources, biodiversity and mixed heritage that "give it an identity ... and cultural richness that are not always easy to find."