Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Adam Schiff, USA Today, February 16, 2021, introduced legislation to put muscle behind the U.S. commitment to press freedom around the world. They cited the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi Consulate, one of the 2,658 journalists and media employees murdered over the last 30 years. The legislation mandates the withdrawal of aid to governments attacking journalists and puts sanctions on individuals and leaders responsible for the attacks.
A Washington Post editorial, February 16, 2021, decries Poland’s nationalist government for its recent acts to curtail free expression. The government is attempting to put clamps on the independent media and plans to impose a new tax on media advertising that could drive many news media concerns out of business. The editorial favored a shift in U.S. policy to oppose the anti-democratic shift in Poland.
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