Thread by @natashya_g

Storytime. Landed in DC late last night after a transit and long haul from SG. I get to immigration counter and the officer asks me why I’m in the US.
Me: I’m here for a talk
Him: What’s your job?
Me: I’m a journalist
Him: What’s your talk on?
Me: #pressfreedom in Asia

He scoffs.
Him: The goal of news is just to sell and make money.
Me: Some outlets more than others. There’s enough to sell anyhow, with all that’s going on in the world.
He stamps my passport. As I walk away, he yells after me:
Journalists just make stories up.

I literally stopped in my tracks. I wanted to turn around and argue. I was insulted, frustrated, annoyed. This, from an immigration officer, who as a figure of authority, could potentially not let me enter the US if I engaged in an argument. This, in today’s America.

Here I was, entering the US to advocate for and educate people about press freedom in Asia, and a government official is quick to assert fake news simply because I say I’m a journalist. Herein lies the problem. The normalisation of demonizing journalists and anti-press rhetoric.

It has been normalised by world leaders, by hateful attacks on social media - that many think it is okay to attack journalists and dismiss their work as “fake news.” It’s unhealthy to automatically accuse press as bad, especially as democracies around the world deteriorate.

Media is imperfect. Journalists too have biases. And yes, some media outlets are dishonest. But many others aren’t. Reporters on the ground don’t earn much. It’s a calling, a public service for many who work amid threats to uncover the truth & hold power to account. Support them.