Our View: Pass should be returned

We live in some troubling times.

Last week, a reporter for CNN was banned from the White House after a dispute with President Donald Trump during a press conference. The exchange between the two was heated and the reporter, Jim Acosta, did refuse to return the microphone or sit down as he attempted to question President Trump’s characterization of a Central American migrant caravan as an invasion of the United States.

CNN, along with Fox News and other cable news networks, can be criticized for making entertainment out of the news. It creates a disjointed echo chamber that fails to inform. However, the troubling part came later when the White House released a video used to justify revoking Acosta’s pass. The video shows Acosta making an aggressive motion towards an intern attempting to take the microphone away from him. According to a video expert contacted by the Associated Press, the video was likely altered to show Acosta acting in a more aggressive manner than in reality. The expert explained his findings using a side-by-side comparison of the White House video and footage taken of the exchange.

It’s more than concerning when any branch of government uses falsified information to make its point. However, with this, the White House’s Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has become the President’s propaganda minister. President Trump has since claimed the video looks different because it is close up and said it wasn’t doctored, but offered no proof to back up his statements.

Using doctored video to back up a claim is the kind of thing one would expect from a dictatorship, not a democracy. This is something more fitting of North Korea or China than the United States. An act like this aims to create a chilling effect on the media from asking tough questions or doing anything that may upset the President.

Suppose this happened in Wyoming, where Gov. Matt Mead or a member of the legislature used a doctored photo as proof to expel a reporter from a public hearing. Suppose that happened with the Green River City Council or Sweetwater County Commissioners?

People have a right to access information about their government and question the motives of their leaders. While we think Acosta could have conducted himself differently, the much bigger problem of the White House losing its credibility still remains. How can we trust what is coming from Sanders or any White House official when they’re so willing to push false information in support of an agenda?