Nicaraguan news has come under attack in a political showdown with the government. Nicaragua has only two independent news outlets, Canal 12 News and La Prensa. They report the good and bad news about the country. All other Nicaraguan outlets are connected to President Daniel Ortega who has turned his back on democratic ways for his country. That means he gets to call the shots about the news they broadcast to the public. This limits what the public gets to know or see about what's going on in their own country.
Media in Nicaragua
According to Media Landscapes the majority of news outlets are connected to the President and his government. Government connected media reports news with an angle that makes them look good. Social media like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp are becoming more popular with younger generations of Nicaraguans. More fake news is being distributed by using these new ways of reporting news.
Independent News Down to Two in Nicaragua
Harassment continues for the media in Nicaragua and President Ortega is the main attacker. He and his government have made it nearly impossible to report freely. The news media and newspapers who report anything that opposes President Ortega's views are harrassed. According to RSF Reporters Without Borders the journalists in Nicaragua are doing their jobs while living in fear. They have been the targets of death threats when their reporting opposes the views of President Ortega.
Canal 12 News under attack in Nicaragua
The government in Nicaragua will use whatever it takes to keep independent news outlets from reporting the actual news. According to VOA News (Voice of America) , Canal 12 News was hit with a court order to seize its assets. The court order said that they owed taxes, but many claim it's just political payback. With their assets frozen, they won't be able to broadcast and that's the way the government wants it.
Government in Nicaragua tries to bully La Prensa into submission
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his political allies found a new way to silence the freedom of press. According to the LA Times the government has punished the independent newspaper, La Prensa, by literally cutting them off from supplies. They have very little to no access to paper and ink to print newspapers. This has caused them to print less pages in each newspaper and limit the amount of circulation. "The blockade on newsprint and ink had forced the country's only other daily newspaper, El Nuevo Diario, to close its doors. Now La Prensa faced the same fate". This same harassment has hurt La Prensa financially which forced them to lay off 75 people already and they only had a 100 people to start with. The Nicaraguan government continues to harass the newspaper to try to get them to comply to the demands of the government. By defying these demands there is a huge possibility that more jobs will be lost at the newspaper and that they may be put out of business. Many employees of the newspaper may lose their jobs just by trying to do their jobs.