https://rsf.org/en/news/uk-press-freedom-under-threat-lockdown-government-dismisses-reporting-campaigning-newspapers this story is very scary and i want to talk about it. (it’s thread time)

The UK’s press freedom is something that’s been considered for years to be a cornerstone of our democracy. Something to be proud of, and something that governments should hold respect for. Even when criticised, the UK’s media is generally credible.

In the last forty or so years, that’s come in to serious doubt. Journalistic standards have severely slipped. Papers like the Sun and the Daily Mail are allowed to print outright lies and they have no regard for the consequences.

That means that - sometimes quite rightly - the public don’t trust the media. When publications owned by people like Murdoch exist, why should people trust the media?

But despite all that, there are still papers with credible journalists that exist. Regional and local news are often some of the best outlets, as are (generally) most of the major broadsheets.

The worrying thing? Reports by the Times, the Mirror, and The Guardian were accurate. Objectively, they were true. But when a government that’s become defined by giving out instructions, even if not by choice, claim that credible papers are lying and “campaigning”? -

That’s scary. It should scare you. If a government tells you a newspaper is lying when it discusses the government’s activities, it’s likely they’re trying to cover up their wrongdoing and discredit organisations they claim are the cornerstone of our democracy.