Democrats vs WikiLeaks and the implications for US media
The saga continues as US Democrats file suit against Russia, Trump and WikiLeaks. Plus, reporting the Rohingya story.
On The Listening Post this week: The saga of the US elections continues as the Democrats file suit against Russia, Trump and WikiLeaks. Plus, the news network telling the Rohingya story from the inside.
Democrats vs WikiLeaks
It’s been almost a year and a half since the election of Donald Trump and yet the opposition Democrats still haven’t moved on.
Last week, the party filed a lawsuit over the hacking and publishing of emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2016.
The defendants in the suit are the Russian government, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks. Suing WikiLeaks – a news organisation – for publishing leaked material, when it is hardly the only news outlet to do so, could set a troubling precedent for press freedom.
Contributors:
Ben Norton, reporter, The Real News & Fair Media Watch
Eric Boehlert, senior writer, Share Blue
Jane Kirtley, professor of media ethics and law, University of Minnesota
Eric Alterman, media columnist, The Nation & Professor of Journalism, City University of New York
On our radar
Richard Gizbert speaks to producer Flo Phillips about the Egyptian government’s reaction to an imprisoned photographer winning a UN Press Freedom prize; and how the historic Korean summit was covered, live.
Reporting Myanmar’s Rohingya story
Since the military campaign against Myanmar‘s Rohingya minority began eight months ago, almost three-quarters of a million Rohingya, Muslims, have taken flight across the border into Bangladesh.
Myanmar’s government has tried to control the narrative, denying journalists access to the story, so international media and NGOs have struggled to get the facts. But there is one broadcaster that is still reporting from the inside – Rohingya Vision TV.
Run by exiled Rohingya, the network relies on undercover reporters to get information out. The stories they tell contest the Myanmar government’s version of events, as well as the national media outlets that have closed ranks with the authorities.
Contributors:
Muhammad Noor, cofounder and managing director, Rohingya Vision TV
Francis Wade, author, Myanmar’s Enemy Within: the Making of a Muslim Other
Mark Farmaner, director, Burma Campaign UK
Aye Aye Win, former Myanmar bureau chief, AP