Trump Pro-Palestine Crackdown Forces Student Journalists to Lie Low

By Staff, Agencies

Fearing legal ramifications, internet abuse, and professional implications, student journalists in the US are withdrawing their identities from published pieces as the Trump administration intensifies persecution against students thought to be affiliated with the pro-Palestine movement.

Editors at university publications believe that fear among writers has increased following the arrest of Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, who is presently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody fighting deportation.

She authored an op-ed in a student publication last year criticizing "Israel", raising concerns that simply expressing one's opinions in writing is now considered sufficient grounds for deportation.

Ozturk is one of almost a dozen students and researchers detained by immigration officials since March 8, when Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia graduate student and green card holder, was arrested and deported for his involvement in pro-Palestine rallies. 

Student editors noted that international students who have contributed to their publications are particularly anxious, but that requests to remove pieces due to fear of reprisal are also coming from US residents.

Adam Kinder, editor of Columbia Political Review, said his journal has been requested to remove about a dozen pieces and delay the publishing of over a dozen more in response to rising pressure in recent weeks.

"For students who disagree with the Trump administration's stance, they fear real retaliation," Kinder pointed out.

Stanford Daily's editor, Greta Reich, revealed there has been an increase in takedown requests in recent weeks.

The increased risk spurred a consortium of national student media groups to issue an advisory on Friday, urging student newspapers to reexamine established editorial practices about unpublishing articles and anonymization.

Takedown requests created ethical quandaries familiar to every newsroom, and student papers are no different, with young editors having to weigh high-stakes safety concerns against the journalistic value of openness.