The Journalists’ Union (SJ) emphasized in a statement published today that suspicion towards journalists has become common in recent times, particularly when political, economic, or judicial powers feel challenged.
This statement follows remarks by PSD parliamentary leader Hugo Soares, who, in an interview with RTP News, advocated for increased critical thinking and scrutiny of the news being published.
“Because many of them are absolutely false. A significant number of the news articles published in many newspapers, sold daily to the Portuguese, are false,” Hugo Soares stated in the interview Wednesday evening.
The union highlighted that freedom of the press is constitutionally guaranteed and reiterated its refusal to let it be undermined by populist rhetoric aimed at discrediting those engaged in serious journalism.
“Criticism of journalists is legitimate. It is even healthy. But undermining the integrity of the entire profession without evidence is irresponsible and dangerous,” the statement read. “This approach weakens public debate and fosters an environment ripe for disinformation,” it added.
SJ further warned that “without a free press, power speaks alone. And when power speaks alone, the country ceases to be a democracy.”
The union urged citizens to maintain a “critical, yet informed, spirit,” emphasizing that freedom of the press “is not a privilege of journalists,” but “a right for citizens to be informed with truth, pluralism, and independence.”
