Obama awarded for limiting free press

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/04/11/358126/obama-awarded-for-restricting-free-press/

Obama administration awarded for restricting free press

 

This file photo shows the White House behind a stop sign in Washington, D.C.

Fri Apr 11, 2014 12:58PM GMT

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The White House has won a dubious award for its efforts to limit the access of members of the press to President Barack Obama.

A Jefferson Muzzle is handed out by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression every April to any individual or institution that is “responsible for some of the more egregious or ridiculous affronts to First Amendment principles.”
According to McClatchy, this year’s Muzzle recipients included the US Department of Justice, the White House Press Office, the National Security Agency, and the Department of Homeland Security.
“From the White House to the state house, from universities to high schools, members of the press have had to defend against a variety of challenges, some never seen before,” said Josh Wheeler, director of the center.
Earlier this year, a report by Reporters Without Borders showed that there has been a major decline in press freedom in the United States.
The US plunged 13 places from 32nd to 46th in the France-based group’s 2014 World Press Freedom Index.
The plunge was mainly caused by revelations about the US government’s spying activities and the crackdown on whistleblowers and journalists who brought to light Washington’s spying programs.
Last year, American whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked documents he had obtained from the National Security Agency which showed, among other things, how the US spied on Americans’ phone calls and the online activities of all people around the world.
Fearing prosecution, Snowden had fled to Hong Kong before making the revelations. He then fled to Russia and was granted temporary asylum there in August.
Snowden faces espionage charges in the US and even some former US officials (click here and here) have suggested that he should be “hanged” if convicted of treason.
The Obama administration has repeatedly said that Snowden committed crimes by disclosing US spying programs and National Intelligence Director James Clapper once referred to journalists who helped expose such programs as Snowden’s “accomplices.”
The US also dropped 27 places to the 47th place in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index in 2012 after several journalists were arrested while covering the Occupy protests.