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Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador read out the phone number of New York Times reporter Natalie Kitroev during a press conference on February 22, 2024. (Still from the video: Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s official channel/YouTube)
MEXICO CITY, February 23, 2022 – Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says journalists need to respect privacy laws by refraining from publishing their personal information in the Western Hemisphere’s most dangerous country for journalists. The Conservation Commission made the announcement Friday.
On Thursday, López Obrador said at his daily news conference in Mexico City that U.S. law enforcement officials have been privately investigating allegations that his allies received millions of dollars from drug cartels over the years. He responded to a request for comment on the New York Times report. This was something López Obrador vehemently denied.
During the press conference, the president showed a screen capture of an email sent by New York Times Mexico bureau chief Natalie Kitroev and read out her cell phone number. The next day, López Obrador said he was “not wrong” to release Kitrov’s contact information, insisted that Kitrov’s “moral authority is above the law” and called him out for his own actions. defended.
The disclosure of such information violates Mexico’s privacy and personal data protection law, which is overseen by the National Institute for Transparency, Information Access and Personal Data Protection (INAI). On the same day, INAI announced in a statement that it had launched an investigation into the matter.
new york times López Obrador’s actions called “This is a troubling and unacceptable tactic by a world leader at a time when threats against journalists are on the rise.”
CPJ has reported numerous cases in which Mexican and international journalists have been threatened and harassed through messages sent to personal and work phones. Such threatening and coercive messages, often sent through messaging apps by members of organized crime groups and public officials, have a serious impact on both reporters’ personal lives and their ability to do their jobs as journalists. .
“It is unacceptable and dangerous that Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador has given out contact information to reporters in response to questions critical of his administration,” said Jean-Albert Hoetssen, CPJ’s Mexico representative. Stated. “In the Western Hemisphere’s most dangerous country for journalists, where the vast majority of crimes against the media remain unpunished, reporters are constantly exposed to threats sent to their personal communications devices, and those threats are not properly addressed. It has rarely, if ever, been investigated.”
At least 17 people have been killed in Mexico in direct connection with their work since López Obrador took office on December 1, 2018, according to a CPJ investigation. CPJ is investigating a further 27 journalist murders during this period to determine the motive behind the deaths.
CPJ reached out to López Obrador’s office via messaging app for comment, but did not receive a response.
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