Hundreds of US newspapers on Thursday launched a coordinated defense of press freedom and a rebuke of President Donald Trump for denouncing some media organizations as enemies of the American people. "A central pillar of President Trump's politics is a sustained assault on the free press," said the editorial by the Boston Globe, which coordinated publication among more than 350 newspapers.
"The greatness of America is dependent on the role of a free press to speak the truth to the powerful," the Globe said. "To label the press 'the enemy of the people' is as un-American as it is dangerous to the civic compact we have shared for more than two centuries."
Each of the newspapers, including some in states that Trump won during the 2016 presidential election, ran an editorial, which is usually an unsigned article that reflects the opinion of an editorial board and is separate from the news and other sections in a paper.
The First Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees freedom of the press. Trump has frequently criticized journalists and described news reports that contradict his opinion or policy positions as fake news. He lashed out again on Thursday, tweeting "THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA IS THE OPPOSITION PARTY. It is very bad for our Great Country....BUT WE ARE WINNING!"
He also wrote there was nothing he would want more for the United States than true freedom of the press, but that much of what the media published was fake news, "pushing a political agenda or just plain trying to hurt people. HONESTY WINS!"
The Republican president's comments reflect a view held by many conservatives that most newspapers and other news outlets distort, make up or omit facts because of a bias against them.