The Israeli parliament’s passage of a law allowing the prime minister to shut down foreign news networks has raised concerns at the White House. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the issue during Monday’s press briefing, stating that the US values freedom of the press and supports the important work of journalists worldwide, including those reporting on the Gaza conflict.
When asked if the White House still stood by Israel’s decision to ban Al Jazeera, Jean-Pierre replied, “If it is true, a move like this is concerning. We believe in the freedom of the press. It is critically important.”
“The United States supports the critically important work journalists around the world do. And that includes those who are reporting in the conflict in Gaza,” she added.
She’s right, if you consider parroting Hamas – an internationally recognized terror group which was responsible for the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust – as being “critically important.”
It is also highly hypocritical, considering that the White House is in favor of banning TikTok on national security grounds, but when Israel does pretty much the same thing, it’s “concerning.”
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
2 Responses
The difference, of course, is that TikTok is not a journalist and therefore not subject to the standards to which journalists must comply, etc. unlike Al Jazeera.
No, Shaychus. The issue with TikTok is user privacy and user data being exploited by the Chinese government. It has nothing to do with banning content or suppressing viewpoints. You can argue in favor of banning Al Jazeera, but your outrage headline belies a lack of basic understanding of the issues at hand.