Wednesday, January 25, 2017

The Donald orders EPA media blackout, freezes contracts



In a move that doesn't surprise anyone but should frighten everyone, The Donald's administration has ordered a media blackout for the Environmental Protection Agency.

CBS News obtained a copy of the memo distributed to EPA employees:

“Incoming media requests will be carefully screened,” one directive said. “Only send out critical messages, as messages can be shared broadly and end up in the press.”

“No press releases will be going out to external audiences,” it said. “No social media will be going out. A Digital Strategist will be coming on board to oversee social media. Existing, individually controlled, social media accounts may become more centrally controlled.”
“No blog messages,” it added.

Doug Ericksen, the communications director for Trump's transition team at EPA said "We're just trying to get a handle on everything and make sure what goes out reflects the priorities of the new administration."  

Within hours of his inauguration, information on climate change and global warming disappeared from the White House's website.  The Donald's campaign included denying global warming as a "hoax" perpetrated by the Chinese, a claim he later denied.  So it is clear what the White House's priorities are.  Ericksen predicted the news blackout will be lifted by the end of the week.  It is still censorship.

We shall see.

BTW, News of this censorship of the EPA is strangely absent from the NewsOK.com website.  Just FYI.

The Donald has also promised to kill a number of federal programs including the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Justice Department, which prosecutes polluters.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-trump-administration-orders-epa-media-blackout-contract-freeze/

http://kutv.com/news/nation-world/trump-bans-epa-employees-from-providing-updates-on-social-media-or-to-reporters-bars-awar

http://time.com/money/4639544/trump-nea-sesame-street-budget-cut/

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