Mexican President Lpez Obrador repeatedly criticizes news outlets and press freedom group over spyware coverage – Committee to Protect Journalists

Mexico City, May 11, 2023Mexican President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador must stop making baseless criticisms of local news outlets and the international free expression organization Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

Since March, Lpez Obrador has sharply criticized Article 19, national investigative magazine Proceso, privately owned online news outlets Animal Poltico and Aristegui Noticias, and Animal Poltico investigative reporter Nayeli Roldn over their coverage of the Mexican federal governments alleged use of illegal spyware.

The presidents statements have led to online abuse and threats of violence against Article 19, the three outlets, and their reporters, according to Roldn, Animal Polticos editorial director Daniel Moreno, and Article 19s regional director Leopoldo Maldonado, who all spoke to CPJ by phone.

Mexican President Lpez Obradors recent attempts to discredit journalist Nayeli Roldn, three critical news outlets, and Article 19 are more proof that his administration prefers harassing journalists over solving the countrys catastrophic press freedom crisis, said CPJ Mexico Representative Jan-Albert Hootsen. Lpez Obradors constant verbal attacks on reporters, which serve only as a distraction from the issues they report on, must stop before they lead to further violence against the press.

Since he assumed office in 2018, Lpez Obrador repeatedly stated that his government does not engage in illegal surveillance with spyware and denied that his administration uses such applications for anything other than national security.

However, a series of reports published in March 2023 provided evidence that the Mexican military used Pegasus, a spyware developed by the Israeli NSO group, to monitor conversations between human rights activist Raymundo Ramos and two journalists at the Mexico City newspaper El Universal since 2019.

In a March 10 press briefing, Roldn asked Lpez Obrador about those allegations, to which he responded by saying Roldn was always against his government. When Roldn insisted the military must explain the legal basis for the spying, he accused her of not being objective, and called her unprofessional and part of the tendentious, bribed media.

During an April 28 press conference, the president told reporters that Roldn was paid in 2022 by the National Institute for Access to Information, a federal autonomous body that handles freedom of information requests and regulates the protection of personal data. Lpez Obrador has been highly critical of the institute, which he claims is useless, onerous, opaque, and unnecessarily expensive, and opposes his administration and him personally, according to news reports.

During a May 2 press briefing, Lpez Obrador accused Article 19 of being funded by the U.S. government to work against his government, therefore violating our sovereignty and called the organization interventionist, adding that he would send a diplomatic cable to the U.S. government in protest.

Moreno, Roldn, and Maldonado told CPJ that the presidents remarks have led to many hateful comments on social media against them personally, as well as on websites and social media pages of Article 19, Proceso, Animal Poltico, and Aristegui Noticias.Roldn said she received vicious misogynistic comments, while Maldonado said he and his organization received many threats and statements echoing the presidents comments.

Ive been receiving lots of insults, an increasing number. Id even call it stalking, Roldn told CPJ, adding that the pressure has forced her to keep a lower profile on social media. I cant send out a single tweet without it receiving insults.

Moreno said the presidents comments have made him and his reporters feel less safe, leading some of his reporters to ask not to be named in bylines.

We try to respond to the president, who constantly lies about us and never rectifies false information. His daily press briefing is a far bigger platform than anything we could ever hope to have, Moreno said. We have seen an increase in the number of attacks and insults against us, including social media users openly asking who our family members are to accost them as well.

CPJ contacted presidential spokesperson Jess Ramrez Cuevas for comment via messaging app but did not receive any response.

Mexico was the deadliest country in the Western Hemisphere for journalists in 2022. At least three reporters were murdered in direct connection to their work, and CPJ is investigating another 10 killings to determine the motive.

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Mexican President Lpez Obrador repeatedly criticizes news outlets and press freedom group over spyware coverage - Committee to Protect Journalists