Argentina: Alarm over government’s ongoing efforts to undermine freedom of expression

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“When a government turns criticism into an enemy and journalism into a target, it does not only attack those who inform; it deliberately weakens the fundamental rights of society as a whole.” Burhan Sonmez, President of PEN International

“In today’s Argentina, maintaining a critical voice increasingly means facing a hostile environment, where stigmatisation, persecution and the threat of legal action seek to discipline speech.” Gabriel Seisdedos, President of PEN Argentina

21 January 2026: PEN International expresses its deep concern over the state of freedom of expression in Argentina, which has shown a sustained and multifaceted deterioration over the last year. This situation is marked by the growing use of legal harassment against journalists, the criminalisation of opinion, the weakening of public communication policies, and the misuse of state power to intimidate and censor critical voices. 

One of the most alarming features of this period has been a dramatic increase in the use of legal harassment as a means to silence and intimidate journalists. Throughout 2025, President Javier Milei promoted and initiated criminal complaints against journalists for opinions and commentary related to their professional work. Those targeted include Julia Mengolini, Jorge Rial, Fabián Doman, Mauro Federico, Nicolás Lantos, Carlos Pagni, Ari Lijalad and Viviana Canosa. These actions, based on offences such as defamation, slander or false accusation, constitute a clear pattern of using the judicial system to intimidate, exhaust and deter critical journalism. 

This climate of legal persecution is compounded by campaigns of harassment and digital violence, amplified from the highest levels of government. During a hearing in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), journalists and human rights organisations reported coordinated attacks including mass defamation, threats, hacking attempts, identity theft and the use of artificial intelligence to fabricate false content for the purpose of intimidation. The IACHR warned of a persistent trend of stigmatisation, criminalisation and threats against journalists and human rights defenders, and expressed its willingness to conduct a visit to the country. 

A joint report by the University of Buenos Aires, the International Federation of Journalists, and local CSOs documented a 66% rise in such incidents in 2025, reflecting an increasingly hostile environment for journalism in public spaces and for the public’s right to be informed. 

The government’s suspension of the implementation of the Fund for the Promotion of Audiovisual Communication Media (FOMECA) has left thousands of non-profit media projects without support, while more than 13 billion pesos in collected funds remain unallocated. This defunding, together with legislative initiatives aimed at repealing the Professional Journalists’ Statute and reports of intelligence activities targeting journalists, reinforces a broader context of precaritisation, surveillance and control. 

PEN International urges the Government of Argentina to immediately cease the legal harassment and stigmatisation of journalists and communicators, and to refrain from using the power of the state to pursue critical voices. The organisation also reiterates calls on the government to guarantee full conditions for the exercise of freedom of expression by adhering to domestic law and its international human rights obligations. 

Note to Editors  

• For more information, please contact Alicia Quiñones, Head of the Americas Region, PEN International: [email protected]  

• For media queries, please contact Sabrina Tucci, Head of Communications and Campaigns, PEN International: [email protected]