Finnish paper targets Trump, Putin with billboards on press freedom

A Finnish newspaper has welcomed Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to Helsinki with pointed messages about the free press, CNN reports.

The messages, which appear on 300 billboards, include: "Mr President, Welcome to the land of free press" and "Trump calls media enemy of the people."

Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest newspaper, set up the billboards as the American and Russian presidents met for talks in the Finnish capital on Monday. The newspaper said it wanted to remind them of the importance of free press.

An advert by the Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat is displayed during the U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin summit in Helsinki, Finland July 16, 2018. Reuters

The billboards on the routes from the airport to the summit are filled with news headlines regarding the presidents' attitude towards the press freedom, Kaius Niemi, the senior editor-in-chief of the newspaper, explained on Twitter.

The campaign uses headlines taken from the newspaper, including, "Trump calls media the enemy of the people, "Putin shuts down Russia's largest news agency", and "Trump cabinet selects appropriate reporters".

US President Trump has frequently lambasted the press for what he calls "fake news".

Free press monitors have taken notice. Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (known by its French acronym RSF) dropped the United States down two places to 45 in its 2018 World Press Freedom Index rankings, saying Trump's presidency "has fostered further decline in journalists' right to report."

"He has declared the press an 'enemy of the American people' in a series of verbal attacks toward journalists, attempted to block White House access to multiple media outlets, and routinely uses the term 'fake news' in retaliation for critical reporting," RSF says.

"The violent anti-press rhetoric from the highest level of the US government has been coupled with an increase in the number of press freedom violations at the local level as journalists run the risk of arrest for covering protests or simply attempting to ask public officials questions.”