Alwaght- The new US President banned governmental agencies from providing news updates on social media or to the reporters.
Through separate letters, Donald Trump has put the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture under de facto gag, British Guardian daily reported on Wednesday.
Based on documents obtained by news organizations Trump has banned EPA employees from “providing updates on social media or to reporters”.
The report quotes an interagency emails first obtained by the Associated Press that shows the government has barred the agencies from awarding new contracts or grants as well. Trump is reportedly planning massive cuts and rollbacks for the agency.
This follows similar guidance to USDA employees, who were instructed in an internal memo obtained by Buzzfeed not to release “any public-facing documents” including “news releases, photos, fact sheets, news feeds, and social media content” until further notice. Specifically the request was made to employees of the Agricultural Research Service, the USDA’s primary research wing, which is heavily involved in research regarding climate change.
The agency, however, responded in defiance to the “flawed” email saying the proposed policy would be replaced.
“This internal email was released without departmental direction, and prior to departmental guidance being issued,” the statement released by the ARS read. “ARS values and is committed to maintaining the free flow of information between our scientists and the American public.”
The two blackouts reported on Tuesday bring to at least five the number of federal agencies which have been ordered silent by Trump in as many days. In his briefing on Tuesday, Trump’s press secretary Sean Spicer said he needed to look further into the matter before making any comment.
Over the weekend, the Department of the Interior’s social media privileges were briefly suspended by the president after the National Park Service published a picture comparing Trump’s inauguration crowd to that of Barack Obama in 2009.
