Here’s How Kamala Harris & Donald Trump Differ On Press Freedom

Freedom of the press, which guarantees the right to report the news without government interference, is protected by the First Amendment. But as we approach the 2024 election, it’s clear that Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have two very different ideas as to what that freedom actually entails. A new report, which Refinery29 got an exclusive first look at, published Oct 22 by the Coalition for Women in Journalism, a nonprofit organization, suggests how each candidate may handle the press in their respective terms. We rely on our government to enforce the Constitution as the law of the land — but under Trump, access to our First Amendment rights appears to be in danger.

Project 2025 is the Heritage Foundation’s conservative policy roadmap for Trump’s second presidential term. He denies being involved, saying that he has “nothing to do with it,” although, according to CNN, 140 former Trump staffers helped put it together. “Project 2025 is poised to bring these dangerous tactics into the US in a way we haven’t seen before, threatening to dismantle the free and independent press that’s so vital to our democracy,” Kiran Nazish, founding director of the Coalition For Women In Journalism, tells Refinery29 in a statement.

Nazish is right — a free and independent press is critical to democracy. It helps alert the public when people in impactful positions abuse their power and keeps them in check, which is why it’s often the first thing to go under authoritarian leaders. Project 2025 also proposes increasing executive control over agencies like the FCC, defunding public media outlets such as NPR and PBS, and using Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) lawsuits to suppress critical journalism, according to the report — all of which are a direct threat to the free press.

Another Trump presidency would likely mirror his 2016 term — the era of claiming facts and reporting by mainstream media as “fake news,” threatening to indict political opponents, calling the press the “enemy,” and deploying the National Guard during peaceful racial justice protests in 2020. “We saw a 65% increase in threats and online harassment toward women journalists during his presidency, much of it stemming directly from his language,” says Nazish. “By fueling mistrust in the press, Trump set the stage for a more hostile working environment for journalists, particularly those covering contentious topics like race, gender, or immigration.”

According to the report, press freedom violations in the US showed a steep increase during Trump’s presidency, with 14 incidents directly tied to Trump in 2020. The report also notes that Republican-affiliated figures, law enforcement, and far-right groups were responsible for the majority of documented violations.

A Harris presidency would be far more press-friendly, but there’s still plenty of room for work, according to the CFWIJ. “Conservatives have repeatedly criticized Kamala Harris’s efforts to combat disinformation, arguing that her approach could lead to censorship and undermine free speech,” Nazish says. “Some claim that regulating social media platforms opens the door to suppressing political dissent, while others argue that her push to hold tech companies accountable for harmful content may silence conservative voices."

In recent years, we’ve seen more nationwide protests and criminalization of protesters — most notably, pro-Palestine protests on college campuses and ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. The CFWIJ has documented at least 10 press freedom violations by law enforcement targeting women journalists covering pro-Palestine protests under the Biden administration in 2024. “The most troubling incident was during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago in August, when photojournalist Olga Fedorova, along with her colleagues, were arrested while covering pro-Palestine protests. It’s concerning that neither Harris nor Tim Walz have responded to these recent incidents,” Nazish says.

Still, Harris is a candidate with more respect for the freedom of the press than her opponent. The report points to a few instances where Harris has fought to protect journalists and transparency in the news — for example, she supported the California Public Records Act when she was California’s Attorney General and launched the OpenJustice platform in 2016 to provide the press and the public with data on criminal justice. She also reiterated her dedication to "fighting for truth, transparency, and trust” when she was elected to the US Senate.

Currently, the US ranks #55 on the World Press Freedom Index. It’s a low score that has consistently fallen over the years, and that’s due to a number of factors: Widespread media layoffs, the decline of local news, the prevalence of online harassment to women and minority journalists, the lack of legislation protecting reporters, the demonization of journalists, and more. There’s a lot that needs to be done to continue upholding the First Amendment to the highest degree, and the next president has the opportunity to strengthen protections — or make the state of the press even worse.

The full report is available here.