Trump Nondisclosure Agreements Threaten Transparency and Press Freedom

WASHINGTON, May 26 — National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. today issued the following statement on a reported proposal by President Trump to require nondisclosure agreements for all federal employees: “The notion of imposing sweeping nondisclosure agreements across the federal workforce represents a profound threat to transparency, press freedom, and the public’s right to know. A functioning democracy depends on the free flow of information. At its core, this measure appears designed to deter federal employees from speaking with journalists by threatening their livelihoods — even about matters of public concern. Federal employees are often the first to identify waste, misconduct, or threats to public safety. When those individuals are effectively silenced from sharing information with reporters, the public loses a critical line of sight into its own government. Efforts to impose sweeping secrecy obligations across the civil service do not strengthen the government. Instead, they shield it from scrutiny and weaken public trust by limiting the flow of information citizens rely on to make informed decisions. Measures that chill speech, weaken transparency, and limit the public’s right to know must be rejected. Instead, reforms should strengthen whistleblower protections, uphold First Amendment principles, and reaffirm the essential role of a free press in holding power to account. The government has a legitimate responsibility to safeguard classified information, but the First Amendment does not stop at the doors of public service. Policies that broadly restrict communication with the press raise serious constitutional concerns and weaken long-standing norms that protect both free expression and independent journalism. The First Amendment protects not only the right to publish, but the right to speak and share information of public concern.”

OpEd: A World Press Freedom Day lunch to celebrate information control As the Guyana government grasps yet another opportunity of World Press Freedom Day to project itself as a paragon of press freedom, the unvarnished fact of the matter is that there is tighter information control. Consequently, there is a growing absence of public accountability. The administration has tightened the lid on almost all facets of information mechanisms that allow for openness and transparency....

#WorldPressFreedomDay invites reflection—but this year, the numbers should unsettle us. Just 1% of the world’s population lives in a country where press freedom is rated “good” (source: Reporters Without Borders). One percent. At the top of the World Press Freedom Index Table is a familiar trio: Norway, the Netherlands, and Estonia. Different geographies, substantially the same formula—robust legal protections, cultural respect for journalism, and a shared understanding that a free press isn’t an irritant. It’s democratic infrastructure. Further down the table, it’s a more complicated story. The UK edges up two places to 18th. Australia slips four to 33rd. Both are steeped in traditions of #openjustice. Both pride themselves on the rule of law. Yet both are navigating increasingly fraught terrain. Why? Some usual suspects: the rise of lawfare (including SLAPP-style actions), declining public trust in institutions (media included), episodic government pressure, and the perennial tug-of-war between reputation, privacy and freedom of expression. But the more uncomfortable question is this: What does it say when jurisdictions that invented many of the principles underpinning a free press begin to falter in protecting it? These are not abstract tensions. They play out every day—in courtrooms, newsrooms, and across digital platforms where the reach is international but the rules remain domestic. A free press is rarely convenient. But it is always necessary. If 1% is the benchmark, the rest of us aren’t even close. Press freedom is built, defended, and renewed in small decisions every day. By courts that insist on openness. By journalists who keep asking difficult questions. And by those who refuse to turn a blind eye. We can—and should—do better.

"President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress have been determined to dismantle fact-checking journalism, both in the United States and around the world. Are they having regrets now? Iran may be outgunned on the battlefield, but the country is holding its own in information warfare." https://lnkd.in/gJWzE_pY

After The Florida Trib started asking questions about the South Florida Standard and its purported journalists, administrators of the site began tinkering with its contents and removing staff bios – before taking the site offline entirely. This story, by Trib reporter Kate Payne takes a detailed look at an AI-driven news website in Florida, and why its creators launched it. Payne collaborated with Zach St. Louis, a producer for Question Everything from KCRW and Placement Theory. Jeremy Carrasco, director of Riddance.ai, and Michael Vasquez, an investigative reporter for The Florida Trib contributed to this story. https://lnkd.in/edADcU-X