This summer, the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council banned a local news outlet from engaging with any of his 40 elected representatives. Councillor Mick Barton of Reform UK also instructed council officials to stop sending press releases and event invitations to journalists at Nottinghamshire Live.

Why? Because these journalists had upset Barton with their coverage of his party.

When Reform UK’s leader, Nigel Farage, was asked about this at a US Congressional hearing, he came out with characteristic bluster about his absolute commitment to free speech whilst denying responsibility for the ban.

A few days later, Reform UK hosted a well-known anti-vaxxer at their annual conference. Challenged about the lack of scientific evidence for his claims, a party spokesperson told the BBC, ‘Reform UK does not endorse what he said but does believe in free speech.’

It might seem strange when a political party vigorously defends the freedom to spread falsehood while curtailing the freedom to tell the truth, but this is straight out of the populist playbook. From Trump’s America to Orban’s Hungary and Modi’s India, authoritarian politicians are demonising journalists whilst eulogising fantasists. Every day, the bond between journalists and the public is........

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