Trump leads global war against mainstream media

In a new trend in politics, inspired by a favoured tactic of US President Donald Trump, leaders of multiple nations are now attacking mainstream news media for publishing and broadcasting “fake news” and posing threats to national security. CNN, no stranger to the charges itself, recently reported that Trump’s example had emboldened authoritarian leaders and outright dictators around the globe.
Blaming Trump is both easy and ironic. If the democratically elected head of the world’s dominant superpower – the “leader of the free world” – doesn’t trust journalists in his own nation, profound questions arise. Blaming the media plays into Trump’s hands, especially if they are right in their reports about him. Simply put, the showdown puts the democratic part of the world in a very awkward situation.
Truly democratic systems require bold, independent media as well as objective and truthful journalists, but while Trump’s attacks have focused on credibility or the lack of it, he has opened opportunities for assaults on the entire conventional media industry. 
CNN has suggested that the Trump paradigm – which entails getting away with lying while being believed by a core electorate – has led to unfair action against the media around the planet, with arrests of journalists and the shuttering of news outlets reported in various locales, particularly in Southeast Asia.
The term “fake news” sounded laughable at first as Trump tried to bat away persistent reports of Russian influence in his 2016 election. 
With repetition, though – and investigators’ failure to prove Russian perfidy – the term has taken on its own credibility, first in America, where faith in the mainstream media was already in steep decline, and then beyond.
Trump is gleefully waging a war against an institution that, for all its faults, remains influential and important. The media, a pillar of democracy, have lost ground due to the common perception they concentrate too much horse-trader politics rather than the interests of ordinary citizens. 
The failing most commonly cited, however, was the media’s support for America’s post-9/11 invasion of Iraq. If the media could not see through government lies over that, so the reasoning goes, they have not improved since the days of Nixon.
In immature democratic societies, the importance of independent media is even greater. 
This is where Trump’s war on the press generates its most undesirable effects. CNN has quoted analysts as saying Asia’s strongmen have been buoyed by the lack of criticism from the Trump White House regarding their suppression of the media.
To be fair to Trump, he cannot criticise foreign leaders for manhandling journalists as long as he’s accusing the US press of sharing fake news and, by doing so, undermining American democratic freedoms. 
We are seeing a global paradox, particularly among democratic nations. 
Certainly, an elected leader must be able to speak his mind and strive to protect the interests of his people. If he deems the media a threat to the national interest, it’s not wrong for him to take action.
On the other hand, the media must be able to speak freely and strive in their own way to protect the interests of the people. Both camps share a responsibility. Their showdown has apparently crossed the boundaries of how democracy is supposed to function. It must lead to a profound soul-searching, with tangible action after that, or else the ultimate victim will be a political system embraced by most of the world.