EDITORIAL: Media stands in the way of authoritarianism

Over the past two weeks Americans have borne witness to blatant, brazen manipulations of the truth from their own government. It is the US media — so often maligned — that has been instrumental in restoring rationality and accuracy.

The killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents was a shocking affair. The footage is haunting — the response perhaps even more so.

Officials quickly stepped in formation in the shooting’s aftermath to toe the party line. They sold a version of events that cast Pretti as a dangerous antagonist, alleging he was an unstable man who arrived at a protest armed with a firearm and premeditated intent to cause harm to ICE agents.

The tone was set by homeland security secretary Kristi Noem, who declared that the victim had “committed an act of domestic terrorism”. The world would soon learn that this was a narrative untethered from reality.

Footage of the incident, recorded from multiple angles captured from multiple cellphones, clearly shows that the official version of events is a gross misrepresentation of what transpired. Pretti at no point brandished his firearm or demonstrated intent of any kind to inflict grievous harm on law enforcement.

Multiple media houses have lent credibility to the on-the-ground reports. For instance, The New York Times has done excellent work in stitching together different videos to get the clearest possible view of the deadly moment. Such efforts have ensured that the “domestic terrorist” line was stillborn.

It is a free press that has registered a nations’ discontent, delivering the message that it refuses to be lied to. Of course, the American media is imperfect. Many would argue that it bears heavy responsibility for its role in polarising society to an irrevocable degree. But as long as there are outlets that remain independent, and media laws are upheld, it will continue to play a pivotal role in situations such as the tragedy of last week.

The moat of obstinance in Minneapolis is now crumbling in on itself. That reality appears to have been confirmed by the initial department of homeland security report into the incident, which finds two federal agents shot at Pretti and, importantly, contains no mention of him attempting to wield a firearm.

In his usual mercurial way US President Donald Trump has tried to calm tensions in Minneapolis, going as far as admitting that many of his officials’ incendiary remarks were wrong. This was epitomised by his blasé rubbishing of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s description of Pretti as an “assassin”. (Miller has himself backtracked).

Despite his awkward posturing of the past few days, there can be no reasonable debate against the idea that Trump created the conditions that led to this tragedy and that his administration initially revelled in the dishonesty and confusion.

While Trump faced accusations of authoritarian leanings in his first term, it is in the last year that he has truly earned the label. He has systematically bent the flow of information in his favour, locking out the (legitimate) press on a whim or a grudge at multiple points.

According to the Financial Times’ research metric of “Scale of Liberty, Independence & Democratic Erosion”, on Trump’s watch the US has dropped from full marks out of a score of 30 to below 15.

Those under him who have proved themselves sufficiently obsequious are allowed to operate with impunity, similarly unburdened by any pressure to link their actions to facts.

That is to say nothing of the immigration policies that are the basis for the unrest in Minneapolis and that saw Renée Good also killed by federal agents last month.

With three years left of the Trump administration the battle is just beginning for the American media. It won’t be an easy one with pressures as tight as they have ever been.

“Democracy dies in darkness,” is the Washington Post’s tagline. The same publication has just announced significant staff layoffs.