Autocrats dismantle democracy in stages, and they start with the news media
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This is the first of several posts that will draw on presentations from the International Symposium of Online Journalism, which took place March 27-28 at the University of Texas, Austin. Fifty-eight countries were represented among the 422 people who attended in person and 455 who participated online.
This post focuses on a special session March 29, conducted in Spanish for Latin American journalists — the Iberoamerican Colloquium of Digital Journalism (Coloquio Iberoamericano de Periodismo Digital). I did not attend in person but watched the sessions here on YouTube.
All the translation from Spanish is my own. — James Breiner
This post will cover:
- journalists in exile from Venezuela, and how press freedom is being eroded globally
- solutions to autocratic trends, proposed by a Cuban journalist
- Nicaragua’s journalists in exile fight on from Costa Rica
- 11 ways the White House is following the autocrats’ media playbook
Un resumen del Coloquio entero en español, por César López Linares
How journalists survive in exile
Luz Mely Reyes is one of the 92 Venezuelan journalists who have fled to the U.S. in order to keep doing independent journalism. In all, 347 have had to leave Venezuela because of threats, intimidation, criminal charges, and closure of their media by the authoritarian government of Nicolás Maduro. But they continue reporting on government corruption, human rights violations, and a disastrous economy for audiences in Venezuela and abroad.
She described in detail the gradual, step-by-step suppression of free expression that has taken place over the last 10 years in Venezuela. And she warned the Colloquium audience that alarm bells should be ringing in liberal democracies everywhere.
The same pattern is being repeated all around the world, including the U.S., she said.
‘Where have the Venezuelan journalists gone?’ 92 to the U.S., 56 to Spain
The map above shows where 347 Venezuelan journalists have fled as the Maduro government has suppressed all opposition voices and media organizations. “Where have Venezuelan journalists gone,: is the headline on this slide from the presentation of Luz Mely Reyes at the Iberoamerican Colloquium of Digital Journalism March 29 at the University of Texas, Austin.
Dozens of journalists and academics from all over Latin America — most notably Nicaragua, Mexico, El Salvador, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil — described how the suppression of free speech progresses.
At the most basic level, ruling powers reward compliant media with government advertising or withhold it from media that criticize them. Also, they silence opposition voices by defaming individual journalists, launching cyberattacks on media, buying up or closing down critical media, criminalizing NGOs as “traitors” who foment revolution, and other supposedly legal tactics.
They also drive critics out of the country. The Press and Society Institute (IPYS) reported that last year, 22 Venezuelan journalists were forcibly displaced, 14 press workers were detained, and at least 40 journalists and human rights activists had their passports revoked, Katherine Pennacchio reported.
Foundations pull out, grants dry up. Reyes noted that much of the international foundation support of independent media has dried up. The Open Society Foundation, under new leadership, has pulled out of Latin America. Other major European grant makers have done so as well. International aid is going toward areas of armed conflict such as Ukraine and Syria.
How to fight back
Reyes recommended regional alliances of media to produce and distribute news — such as what Connectas.org is doing for Latin America. She urged journalists to enlist the help of people from other industries that are affected by the corrupting influence of autocrats. Finally, she emphasized the need to diversify revenue beyond advertising and grants.
In a separate part of the Colloquium, Cuban journalist José Jasán Nieves, editor of El Toque, said media need to move fast and not wait for donations from foundations.
He presented a variety of potential sources of revenue for media — events, books, tech consulting, creative services, entertainment as a service, retail sales, and various kinds of user support, from subscriptions to donations.
Nieves is also a journalist in exile. He had to move his family to Florida a few years ago, and they have been harassed even there by Cuban operatives.
The case of Nicaragua
The Nicaraguan dictator, Daniel Ortega, and his wife, Rosario Murillo, have driven an estimated 300 journalists into exile, most of them to neighboring Costa Rica. Carlos Lauría, executive director of the Interamerican Press Association (Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa, SIP), moderated a panel of these journalists.
One of them is Gerall Chávez, co-founder of Nicaragua Actual, a multi-platform news website focused on human rights, indigenous people, political prisoners, and other topics. He had to leave Nicaragua six years ago. He presented highlights of a documentary called “Nicaragua: Resistance Journalism” (Periodismo en Resistencia) that they produced.
Nicaragua Actual now has 100,000 YouTube subscribers.
Chávez said that the government recently took censorship further: they blocked five independent news websites whose domain name ended in “.ni”, namely his site, Confidencial, 100% Noticias, La Prensa, and Onda Local. In response, these five media have moved their content to new websites not subject to control of the dictatorship.
Police harassment, passport revoked
Arquimedes González attracted the attention of the Nicaraguan police with one of his books, which detailed human rights violations and the torture of political prisoners.
His passport was confiscated at the airport when he tried to leave the country in 2021. The next year, police arrived at his home to arrest him but he managed to escape. He was director of the department of communication at the Universidad Centroamericana.
Julio López, director of Onda Local, told how this radio program had to move online because of censorship.
He described a turning point for him and journalism in Nicaragua. He was attending a demonstration by young people when he was hit on the head with a baseball bat. He woke up with no memory of the incident. It was time to get out.
In a Q&A following the presentations, panel members emphasized that Ortega is silencing any part of society that offers a message that contradicts the government. That means the regime monitors and controls all public communication — by business, charities, even the church.
Solutions?: Collaborations, new revenue sources
The possible solutions they mentioned were cross-border cooperation rather than competition among journalism organizations, developing new revenue sources, as well as innovative production and distribution techniques and platforms.
César López Linares reported on a Symposium panel, in English, which described strategies to preserve press freedom. It included representatives of seven media outlets, from Cuba, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Google News Lab.
Maria Martha Bruno, international partnerships coordinator at the Brazilian outlet Agência Pública, spoke about “the importance of cross-border collaboration and the opportunities partnerships offer journalism in Brazil and across Latin America,” López Linares reported.
“With the new international and geopolitical landscape we’re living in, we know Brazil and Latin America now have a more prominent role, in which we’re deeply involved and have significant influence,” Bruno said.
Brazilian journalist Paula Miraglia, founder of outlets Nexo Jornal and Gama Revista, said digital platforms such as Meta and Google are now the main wedge between media and their audiences.
Miraglia created Momentum – Journalism and Tech Task Force, a global think tank based in Brazil, tries to remove that wedge. Its research and activities work “to build solutions that can positively impact the media ecosystem in the face of tech company dominance,” López Linares reported.
Peruvian pioneer
Journalist David Gómez-Fernandini and three partners launched the independent Peruvian outlet Epicentro.TV online in 2021 after leaving América Televisión. Their work had been under pressure during that year’s presidential elections in Peru.
They have since focused on investigative journalism on human rights presented in formats lasting one or two minutes. They have gained “more than 100,000 followers on both Facebook and YouTube, and nearly 80,000 on TikTok,” López Linares reported.
Revenue opportunities. Journalist and Google News Initiative (GNI) trainer Mariana Alvarado spoke about the training and sustainability programs Google offers for journalists and newsrooms in Latin America. She described how GNI Growth Labs provides training and consulting for newsrooms on audience and revenue growth.
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The autocrats’ media playbook: the White House follows it
All of these Latin American press struggles are sounding alarm bells here in the North. President Trump is using the same tactics.
In my 30 years as a journalist, I learned one thing about powerful people: They want only one version of reality reported in the press — their own.
They will do anything to control the message about themselves, their organization, and their activities. In a well functioning democracy, there are many checks and balances that guarantee multiple voices are heard.
But in a political dystopia like that in George Orwell’s novel “1984,” Big Brother, the Thought Police, and the Ministry of Truth flood the people with propaganda and punish independent thought. Autocrats hope that by sowing fear among media and journalists, they’ll begin self-censorship.
Here are some Trump actions that mimic the autocrat playbook:
- He barred Associated Press (AP) Journalists from the Oval Office and Air Force One: In February 2025, AP reporters were denied access to key presidential events after the agency continued to use the term “Gulf of Mexico” instead of the administration’s preferred “Gulf of America.” CBS News
- Lawsuits against major media outlets: The administration filed lawsuits against ABC, CBS, and other media entities, alleging defamation and biased coverage. There is also only one wire service in the press pool instead of the typical three, while spots were handed to Newsmax and The Blaze, two right-wing outlets .The Guardian
- Intimidation of specific journalists: The White House publicly denounced and targeted respected journalists and media organizations. Among them, HuffPost reporter S.V. Date HuffPost . It also attacked journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of the Atlantic magazine for breaking a scoop about national security lapses by the administration on a Signal messaging app. ABC News. And then there were the attacks on several New York Times journalists. Washington Times
- Eliminating funding of Public Broadcasters: Trump urged Republicans in Congress to eliminate funding to public broadcasters NPR and PBS. He said, “Republicans, don’t miss this opportunity to rid our country of this giant SCAM, both being arms of the Radical Left Democrat Party.” The Hill
- Placing 1,300 Voice of America journalists on leave: Trump accused VOA of being “anti-Trump” and “radical”. The National Press Club, a leading representative group for US journalists, said the order “undermines America’s long-standing commitment to a free and independent press”. BBC
- Trump ordered cancellation of all government subscriptions to major news media. A Trump official wrote, “Pull all contracts for Politico, BBC, E&E (Politico sub) and Bloomberg.” The action was triggered by ”erroneous theories on X about the Biden administration ‘funding’ anti-Trump media.” Axios
- Restrictions on government data access: “At the end of January, officials began removing thousands of pages from the websites of government agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Justice, the Census Bureau, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency.” Reporters without Borders
- Trump administration cuts funding to scientific research. More than 1,900 top U.S. scientists are warning that the Trump administration’s moves against researchers imperil the nation’s health, economy and national security.
- Targeting of foreign journalists: Foreign journalists working for U.S.-funded media “fear being sent to repressive homelands after Trump’s cuts.” AP News+1Axios+1 At least 84 journalists of U.S. Agency for Global Media, or USAGM, who are in the United States on work visas could face deportation, including at least 23 “at serious risk of being immediately arrested upon arrival and potentially imprisoned,” according to the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders.
- The Trump White House is now failing to distribute reporters’ pool stories it finds unflattering. That means other media do not receive the pool report.
Oliver Darcy of Status reported that the White House was apparently upset with the pool reporter’s mention that “A reporter and photographer with The Associated Press were turned away from joining the pool.” Nieman Lab
- Trump ordered the investigation of two aides who defied him and refuted his claims of election fraud. “Trump’s persecution of critics intensified on Wednesday when he ordered the justice department to investigate a whistleblower and a cybersecurity director who refuted unfounded claims of election fraud.” The Guardian
That’s all for now. We continue our slide toward having just one version of reality in our news ecosystem. Let’s make sure we continue to resist intimidation and censorship.
A call to action
Dick Tofel’s Second Rough Draft newsletter has some great ideas on how to confront the threats to trustworthy news, among them this excellent piece on potential collective action as threats mount.
“A lot of resources to address current threats already exist, and deserve our support.” He names the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
There’s more, but he concludes with this: “We all need to do what we can.” So let’s do it. And keep doing it.