RSF - Reporters sans frontières

09/03/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/03/2025 11:21

Argentina: RSF warns of immense threat to press freedom as court imposes prior censorship of leaked Karina Milei recordings

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the court injunction banning the press from broadcasting leaked audio recordings attributed to Karina Milei, Secretary General of the Presidency and sister of President Javier Milei. This court order constitutes one of the gravest threats to press freedom in the country since the return of democracy. RSF is also alarmed by the Milei administration's attempt to target the digital media Carnaval and journalists Jorge Rial and Mauro Federico with police raids following the publication of these recordings.

On 1 September, the Ministry of Security fileda judicial complaint alleging that the audio files, in which a voice attributed to Karina Milei describes what is alleged to be a bribery scheme at the National Disability Agency (Andis), were part of an "illegal intelligence operation." The ministry requested raids on the independent digital media outlet Carnavaland on the homes of the independent political commentator Jorge Rial, who has been the targetof a public smear campaign led by Javier Milei and his supporters, and journalist Mauro Federico. On 29 August, Mauro Federico broadcast excerpts of the recordings on his programme Data Clave, which he hosts on Carnaval's streaming channel. These excerpts were also shared by Jorge Rial, on news channel C5N.

The same day the Ministry of Security filed the complaint, federal judge Alejandro Patricio Maraniello issuedan injunction prohibiting the broadcasting of audio material allegedly recorded inside the Casa Rosada, the seat of the executive branch. He warned the recordings could affect the "privacy and honour" of the Secretary General and the nation's "institutional security".

"This court order imposing prior censorship of the Karina Milei recordings and the government's request for raids on journalists' homes and on a newsroom directly contradict Argentina's international human rights obligations. Investigations into alleged espionage must not serve as a pretext to muzzle the press or erode the protection of sources. Political and judicial authorities must lift the publication ban and the raid requests, and guarantee that journalists are able to report freely on matters of public interest.

Artur Romeu
Director, RSF Latin America

The leaked audios of Karina Milei emerged amid an ongoing corruption scandal triggered by earlier recordingsof the former head of the National Disability Agency, Diego Spagnuolo, in which he describes what is alleged to be a bribery scheme linked to inflated pharmaceutical contracts that benefitted the president's inner circle. According to journalist Mauro Federico, the censored audios of Karina Milei provide even more explicit evidenceof corruption. The government has labelledthe leaks as a conspiracy.

Since Javier Milei took office, Argentina has fallen 47 places in the RSF World Press Freedom Index, one of the steepest declines worldwide. His government has openly fuelled hostilitytowards journalists, tolerated violence in protests, and dismantled public media, further aggravating an already alarming environment for press freedom.

THE AMERICAS
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Published on03.09.2025
  • THE AMERICAS
  • Argentina
  • Technological censorship and surveillance
  • Independence and pluralism
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