MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Milei insists Argentines “do not hate journalists enough”

“Today, they cannot extort and blackmail,” given the existence of social media, Milei also argued

Argentine President Javier Milei launched a fierce attack on the press via social media, defending his advisor Santiago Caputo, who intimidated a Tiempo Argentino photographer during a Buenos Aires City electoral debate.

Milei posted a series of rhetorical questions on X, accusing journalists of harassment, privacy invasion, and unethical practices like using drones or lying, while claiming they face no accountability: “WE DO NOT HATE JOURNALISTS ENOUGH”, wrote the president in capital letters, escalating tensions following recent attacks on newspeople.

The Libertarian leader also suggested journalists manipulate situations to play the victim, framing his criticism as a defense against their alleged abuses, while highlighting his broader disdain for media practices.

Milei unleashed his criticism in the form of questions: “If a person does not feel like talking to the press, is there a law that obliges him to do so? If a person tells journalists that he does not want to talk to them, do journalists have the right to persecute, harass and harass a person to get an answer? If the person does not respond, do journalists have the right to hit the person in the face with the microphone? In case the person approached by the cameras is of public knowledge that he/she is photophobic, is it licit for the cameraman to put lights in his/her face, knowing that it damages the person's eyes? Is it licit for journalists to put drones in a person's house? Is it licit for journalists to lie, slander, and insult without allowing the aggrieved person to defend him/herself? And if, in addition, the journalist receives public funds to do so?”.

In the President's view, legacy media used to do all these things regularly “with total and absolute impunity” until the arrival of social networks, which is why they hate like they do. “Today, they cannot extort and blackmail. Their income is falling and that is why they hit [back],” Milei wrote.

“Naturally, if in each of the points you notice the depraved and violent behavior of journalism, you will understand the phrase: we do not hate journalists enough,” Milei insisted.