Yes ok It is impossible to establish a direct relationship between the words of the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and the attacks that the press receives on social networks, “there is a link between the use” from his megaphone, “the reaction of his followers and allies, and the aggressive tone in which the public discussion takes place around the issues he proposes”.
(See: ‘There is a probability of ending the year with inflation of less than 5% annually’: Petro).
This is clear from a report prepared by the Foundation for Freedom of the Press (Flip) and the independent organization Green Lantern, that analyze relevant episodes of the interaction between the president and sectors of journalism, which has sometimes led to “episodes that have constituted digital harassment against journalists and media outlets”.
The cases analyzed are Petro’s criticism of a report by Caracol News titled ‘The boss and the Human Colombia campaign’, the use of the expression Mossad journalism” by the president and the qualifier of “mafia dolls” that he used.
(See: Petro decorated the former president of Uruguay ‘Pepe’ Mujica with the Boyacá Cross).
Social networks
Petro’s use of X ‘leads to attacks’
Among some of the conclusions contained in the document is that “Frequently, (Petro’s) publications go beyond legitimate criticism and lead to attacks”.
In the three cases that were analyzed, the conclusion is reached that The words used by the president were repeated and amplified thousands of times on the social network and led to attacks and offenses against journalists.
(See: Colombia will not recognize the results of the presidential elections in Venezuela).
In the case of the expression “mafia dolls” to refer to communicators, for example, it indicates: “His words were the node of tweets against women. If the expression had not been used, it is hardly logical to conclude that the debate would not have taken place in those terms.”.
President Gustavo Petro
The President’s Speaker
“The President of the Republic enjoys his right to freedom of expression. However, the exercise of this cannot imply the activation of an adverse environment for the exercise of journalism and the amplification of aggressive and stigmatizing speeches (…) As a node of a network, political figure and leader, his words articulate and condition the discussion public”, noted the document.
Since coming to power, Social network X has been Petro’s favorite platform to publicize everything from changes in the cabinet to policies, as well as his personal opinions on a multitude of topics; and from there he has engaged in crude confrontations with the press that he believes are trying to discredit his government.
(See: The South American presidents with the highest and lowest levels of disapproval).
In fact, he has had clashes with Flip herself, whom he accused of taking sides and not safeguarding the interests of press freedom and the rights of journalists.
EFE
