Mexico's president denies blacklisting journalists amid controversy over new media rules

During a press briefing, President Claudia Sheinbaum dismissed accusations that her government maintains a blacklist of journalists and opposition members, stating the names released by chief counsel Luisa María Alcalde were meant to expose a coordinated digital campaign that distorts facts. Alcalde unveiled two documents listing 54 media outlets and journalists and another with 32 political figures, including former presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón. Sheinbaum emphasized that no official action or censorship was directed at those named and that the purpose was to highlight the misuse of social media for propaganda.

Prominent reporters such as Jorge Ramos, Carmen Aristegui and Denise Dresser condemned the lists as an attempt to intimidate the press in a nation where at least 14 reporters have been killed under Sheinbaum's tenure. The controversy coincides with the administration's push for "audience rights" regulations that would require broadcasters to avoid "false" information and could impose fines, a move critics say threatens press freedom. Broadcasters like TV Azteca and its owner Ricardo Salinas Pliego have labeled the proposal a covert effort to control speech.