ANDERSON COOPER (HOST): We're in this extraordinary situation where dictators now can dismiss a free press as fake news, and are basically given permission to do so by the leader of the free world.



CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Anderson, you know, from my vantage point here overseas, and I've been following and tracking this ever since the word “fake news” came out of the president's mouth, before he was even inaugurated, we have seen an exponential increase in the harassment, the imprisonment, the assault of journalists all over the world.



You just have to look at the statistics of the Committee to Protect Journalists, and others who track journalists' safety. It really is a problem, whether it's in Russia with Vladimir Putin, whether it's in Turkey with President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, or in the Philippines with President [Rodrigo] Duterte, and many other countries.



Of course, when they see the president of the United States -- first of all, it gives them a carte blanche, but even worse, they figure that if it comes from the president of the United States, at least he must know what he's talking about, there must be a grain of truth.



It's not like they're saying, “Oh, well he's giving us cover,” they think “Maybe he's actually speaking the truth against us,” and that's what's very, very dangerous.

Previously:



The Trump Administration's War On The Press

Trump Just Blacklisted Media Outlets. We Warned You This Would Happen.



The White House and Trump’s propagandists teamed up to attack CNN at today’s press briefing