[vrperson]

What makes you so sure that these people were arrested for telling the truth? What about telling the truth would be an offense worthy of arrest in the US? Assange and Manning come to mind, for leaking government secrets.

But according to the article, most arrests happened in connection with Black Lives Matter protests.

It seems equally plausible that more people than ever try to evade arrest by claiming they are journalists. Or journalist have less and less ethics when doing their jobs.

Not saying that's the root cause, just that you can not simply assume all those people were arrested for telling "the truth".

And how do people who bemoan that stand on the subject of censorship on social networks?

[mhh__]

Almost every day during the height of the protests there were videos circulating of the police arresting people (and using violence against) people who were obviously journalists.

For example, a CNN reporter was arrested mid-broadcast and there was footage of some people with cameras being attacked even though they were sat at the side of the road filming rather than taking part.

"Equally plausible" is false equivalency.

[meragrin_]

If you go read the source for the numbers, journalists "detained" in a group of protestors being detained were included in the count. You can easily rack up large numbers that way. The journalists caught up in these were allowed to leave after they had the group under controlled.

[BitwiseFool]

The link included in the person you responded to says: "About half the journalists here are freelancers, who may lack the institutional support of a newsroom and the financial resources for a potentially expensive legal defense."

Journalist isn't a protected title. And I wonder how many activists don the "Journalist" label at protests.

[vrperson]

I have heard it is a common strategy among activists now, but that was a claim made by their "opponents", so not sure how prevalent it is.

[klyrs]

> What makes you so sure that these people were arrested for telling the truth?

> But according to the article, most arrests happened in connection with Black Lives Matter protests.

Kinda answered your own question here. Journalists were arrested for being present at newsworthy events, recording the truth as it unfolded before them

[meragrin_]

Most probably weren't even arrested. Just "detained" while detaining the group of protestors they were amongst.

[dfxm12]

But according to the article, most arrests happened in connection with Black Lives Matter protests. It seems equally plausible that more people than ever try to evade arrest by claiming they are journalists.

Not really. The first amendment protects freedom of the press as well as freedom of assembly. Arresting protestors has a similar chilling effect on speech.

[vrperson]

Pretty sure that only applies to peaceful protests.