Argentine President Targets Press Freedom with AI Smear Campaign

The aggressive rhetoric by Argentina's President Javier Milei against journalists, exemplified by an AI-generated smear campaign against Julia Mengolini, highlights a troubling trend threatening press freedom in the country.

In Argentina, press freedom is facing troubling challenges as President Javier Milei escalates his attacks against journalists, particularly targeting women. A disturbing incident arose when a video, fabricated using artificial intelligence, circulated online, falsely accusing journalist Julia Mengolini of incest. The president, a frequent user of social media platform X, unleashed a flurry of posts—over 65 tweets—this weekend deriding Mengolini amid the controversy.

This incident marks a significant intensification of Milei's ongoing campaign against members of the press who criticize his administration. The series of mocking posts from Milei and his supporters underscores a broader pattern of hostility, which many experts argue is contributing to an environment that threatens both press freedom and journalist safety. Describing his attitudes toward the media, Milei has distastefully coined a phrase that suggests an uninhibited contempt for journalists, reminiscent of rhetoric used by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

While Milei did not directly share the AI video himself, his comments have encouraged a toxic atmosphere surrounding Mengolini, indicating that he believes such attacks against the press are justified responses. Analysts caution that this kind of inflammatory rhetoric, often interlaced with misogyny and misinformation, could incite real-world violence against journalists, marking a dark chapter in the relationship between media and government in Argentina.