JOURNALISM IN THE AMERICAS Blog
Supporters of Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa launch anti-press campaign
A group of Ecuadorian government supporters, known as correistas.com, has launched a campaign against all news publications that have recently criticized Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa for his multiple attacks on press freedom and freedom of expression, explained the organization Fundamedios.
The anti-press campaign, called "Stop attacks on Ecuador," is supported by public officials, like the Secretary for Public Administration, Vinicio Alvarado, who said that "we cannot allow the interests of certain publications to damage Ecuador's international image," according to a statement made by Fundamedios.
The Ecuadorian Embassy in Spain wrote a letter to the Spanish media demanding that journalists respect the Ecuadorian Supreme Court's decision in the libel case against the newspaper El Universo, reported the news agency EFE. The Ecuadorian ambassador to Madrid, Aminta Buenaño, said in the letter that freedom of expression "is not an absolute right that supersedes a person's right to honor," added EFE.
Correistas.com has more than 125,000 followers on its Facebook page, which proclaims “WE are the honest majority, and we WILL vote." The group's page also says, “We believe, support and strengthen the history-making democratic processes that Ecuador is living today!”
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Defenders of free press in
Defenders of free press in Ecuador - and around the world - have also launched a Facebook campaign to stand up against the injustices, taking on the motto of Emilio Palacio's original column in El Universo http://www.facebook.com/saynotolies
Where the mess is...
It is clear that defamation campaign has broken out in the international and national press during the past few weeks not only to make this legitimate plaintiff lose lawfulness but also to discredit Rafael Correa's administration. However, what is most bashful about all this, is that many journalists far from being attached to the most basic ethical principles and truth have forged the most senseless arguments about freedom of press and freedom of speech, showing this way being driven by a corporate spirit which builds an impunity apparatus that defends obvious crimes at all cost.
If you ask me, where the mess is, I will tell you that the mess lays in the quality of Ecuadorian Press, whose dishonesty, lack of coherence, double standards in their judgments and conflict of interests, have constantly made them to slander whoever that does not submit to their interests and manipulate public opinion at their will.
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