A media watch dog says pressure by the Catalan government and social media harassment by “hooligans ” of the pro-independence movement is making for a suffocating atmosphere for journalists trying to cover the planned Oct. 1 independence referendum in the northeastern Spanish region.
A report by Reporters Without Borders on Thursday said the regional government’s drive to impose its side of the story in local, Spanish and international media has “crossed the red lines.”
It added that Spanish authorities’ judicial measures against Catalan media to stem propaganda for the referendum have created an atmosphere of extreme tension.
Spokeswoman Pauline Ades-Mevel called on Catalan authorities to come out against the stigmatization of Spanish media, saying it smacked of electoral campaigns such as those of Donald Trump and other “reactionary movements.”