Julia Manchester

Benton Senior Fellow Gigi Sohn, previously counselor to former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler, said that current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's attempt to repeal network neutrality rules could result in the reinstatement of the former rules. "If this prevails in the court, yes, the 2015 rules should come back," said Sohn, referring to the Mozilla suit, the case that is challenging the decision to end the Obama-era rules. "The court can do many different things to resolve this.

Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate Gigi Sohn said that the new Democratic-majority House will probe the handling of net neutrality by the Trump administration.  She noted that Democrats are “angry” with the Federal Communications Commission repealing the rules that protected consumers from slowing or blocking internet content.

A minimum of 21 journalists worldwide were imprisoned on charges connected to "fake news" in 2017, according to a new report from the Committee to Protect Journalists.  The report cites the recent implementation of measures in countries such as Brazil, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Russia aimed at targeting the rise of fake news. Arrests blamed on fake news reportedly more than doubled from 2016.

President Donald Trump offered his congratulations to the new publisher of The New York Times, A.G. Sulzberger, saying it is the publication's last chance to fulfill its founder's vision.  "The Failing New York Times has a new publisher, A.G. Sulzberger. Congratulations! Here is a last chance for the Times to fulfill the vision of its Founder, Adolph Ochs, 'to give the news impartially, without fear or FAVOR, regardless of party, sect, or interests involved,' " the president said in a tweet.

President Donald Trump in an early morning tweet accused The New York Times of lobbying for Democrats on tax reform, dubbing the newspaper a "pipe organ for the Democratic Party." "The Failing @nytimes, the pipe organ for the Democrat Party, has become a virtual lobbyist for them with regard to our massive Tax Cut Bill. They are wrong so often that now I know we have a winner!" the president said in a tweet.

Sen Ben Cardin (D-MD) called for a congressional hearing into Donald Trump Jr.'s communications with WikiLeaks during the 2016 presidential campaign, saying the matter was "troublesome."  "This is extremely troublesome and it really does require a congressional hearing," Cardin, who is the Ranking Member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  "First of all, we know that WikiLeaks has been working with Russia in regards to what happened in our election. Now we know there was communication between WikiLeaks and Donald Trump Jr.

Democratic Reps of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology urged President Donald Trump to stop relying on “misinformation and fake news" in a letter. The letter claims that the president has left himself vulnerable to misinformation by not appointing a director to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and not fully staffing the department. “You have a tool at your disposal in this regard, should you make use of it, in this Office of Science and Technology Policy,” the letter reads. “If you appoint a qualified OSTP director, you will have a reliable source of policy advice for matters related to science and technology.”