Content:
Six months of Trump’s war on the press
Reporters Without Borders
07/17/2025
Six months into US President Donald Trump’s second term, his administration has become increasingly hostile towards the press, both mimicking and inspiring authoritarian and quasi-authoritarian regimes around the world. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warns of the dangers of a transnational anti-press movement that shares tactics across borders and has found in the American president one of its most powerful proponents yet.
Donald Trump has grown into a key figure in a global anti-journalism political movement that has contributed to a recent decline in press freedom globally, and is currently on full display in the United States just six months into his second administration. Anti-press regimes around the world frequently borrow tactics from one another, from the verbal harassment of journalists to dismantling independent media outlets. Whether intentional or not, they share a playbook to control, bully and punish independent media.
“Donald Trump may be erecting barriers to international trade, but when it comes to attacking the press, ideas are flowing freely between countries with poor press freedom records. Since taking office six months ago, Trump has matched years of verbally attacking journalists with new, concrete actions to limit press freedom. Many of these tactics are nothing new — it’s the same playbook we’ve seen press freedom predators employ around the world. But it’s clear that Trump has amplified this phenomenon, emboldening and inspiring other leaders to crack down on their own domestic media. The result is a disaster for press freedom globally.
