Cambodian Government Cites Trump in Threatening Foreign News Outlets

In a sign that President Donald Trump’s criticism of the news media may be having a ripple effect overseas, a government spokesman in Cambodia has cited the American leader in threatening to shutter foreign news outlets, including some that receive money from Washington. The spokesman, Phay Siphan, said that foreign news groups, including the United States-financed Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, should “reconsider” how they broadcast — or risk a government response if their reports are deemed to spread disinformation or threaten peace and stability.

The White House decision to bar several news outlets, including The New York Times, CNN and Politico, from a briefing last week, Phay Siphan said in a Facebook post, “sends a clear message” that President Trump “sees that news broadcast by those media outlets does not reflect the truth, which is the responsibility of professional journalists.” “Freedom of expression,” he wrote, “is subject to the law and must respect the state’s power.”