21 journalists in six countries jailed on charges related to ‘fake news’ in 2017

A minimum of 21 journalists worldwide were imprisoned on charges connected to “fake news” last year, according to a new report from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The report cites the recent implementation of measures in countries such as Brazil, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Russia aimed at targeting the rise of fake news. Arrests blamed on fake news reportedly more than doubled from 2016.

{mosads}“The fake news rhetoric is having a very real impact on journalists around the world and literally leading to the imprisonment of reporters, and media organizations being kicked out of the country,” the Committee to Protect Journalists’s Advocacy Director Courtney Radsch told ABC News.

President Trump has promoted the term in an effort to respond to critical press coverage of his administration, and to delegitimize news organizations such as CNN and The Washington Post. 

Trump issued 146 tweets that included the term “fake news” in 2017, according to ABC. 

The president attacked the media’s coverage of his presidential campaign as recently as Tuesday, referring to the press as the “fake mainstream media.” 

The Fake Mainstream Media has, from the time I announced I was running for President, run the most highly sophisticated & dishonest Disinformation Campaign in the history of politics. No matter how well WE do, they find fault. But the forgotten men & women WON, I’m President!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2018