Press freedom suffered under Obama
Under President Obama, the United States came in 46th for press freedom out of all the countries in the world, below El Salvador, Spain, Ghana, Poland and…
Under President Obama, the United States came in 46th for press freedom out of all the countries in the world, below El Salvador, Spain, Ghana, Poland and Estonia among many others, according to Reporters Without Borders.
The organization argued that post-9/11 America has sacrificed First Amendment rights for national security through legislation such as the Espionage Act as well as NSA policies. The government's condemnation of high-profile whistleblowers like Private Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and journalist Barrett Brown was also included in consideration of press freedom.
Still, despite press surveillance and criminalization of sources, the United States's press freedom status is listed as a "satisfactory situation," one level away from a "good situation."
Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Guatemala were reported as "difficult situations" for journalists, as was Russia, all of North Africa, nearly all of the Middle East and much of Asia. A handful of countries including Cuba, China, Saudi Arabia and Sudan were found to be very serious situations.
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