Incident
Milei's government shuts down Argentina's state news agency Telam
President Javier Milei's government fenced off and shut down Telam, Argentina's state-owned news agency, calling it a public-relations operation for the prior Kirchnerist governments; unions and journalist groups called the closure one of the most serious blows to press freedom in decades of Argentine democracy.1
What happened
On the night of March 3 into March 4, 2024, Milei's government fenced off Telam's Buenos Aires offices and blocked staff from entering, taking the agency's website offline and placing its roughly seven hundred employees on seven days of paid leave while the closure proceeded. Milei said it was wrong for a poor country's government to spend public money buying journalists' favor, calling Telam "a covert propaganda ministry" and "a Kirchnerist propaganda agency for the last decades." The Buenos Aires Press Union, SiPreBA, called the closure one of the worst actions against freedom of expression in forty years of Argentine democracy, and the Argentine Journalism Forum, Fopea, said the decision would deepen intolerance toward journalism. Workers and press-freedom advocates organized protests, including a symbolic gathering around the building, but the closure proceeded.1234
What reason was given
Stated justificationMilei said it was "immoral that in a poor country like ours, the government spends the people's money to buy the will of journalists," describing Telam as "a covert propaganda ministry."2
What changed for reporting
Argentina's national wire service, which many regional and local outlets relied on for national and international news feeds, stopped operating, and roughly seven hundred journalists and staff lost their positions.3
Timeline
2024
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Javier Milei | ordered | President of Argentina |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| Telam | outlet | affected |
Sources
Claims and evidence
Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.
- Milei's government fenced off Telam's offices and took its site offline, with staff placed on paid leave.
It is immoral that in a poor country like ours, the government spends the people's money to buy the will of journalists.
Milei Closes Argentine State News Agency Telam for 'Spreading Propaganda', Reason, 2024-03-04.Claim 441, checked 2026-09-22. - Milei described Telam as "a covert propaganda ministry" and "a Kirchnerist propaganda agency."
a covert propaganda ministry
Milei Closes Argentine State News Agency Telam for 'Spreading Propaganda', Reason, 2024-03-04.Claim 442, checked 2026-09-22. - The Buenos Aires Press Union called the closure one of the worst actions against freedom of expression in decades of Argentine democracy.
one of the worst attacks on freedom of expression in the last 40 years of democracy.
Milei Closes Argentine State News Agency Telam for 'Spreading Propaganda', Reason, 2024-03-04.Claim 443, checked 2026-09-22. - The Argentine Journalism Forum said the decision would deepen intolerance toward journalism.
only exacerbate hostility and intolerance against journalism
Milei Closes Argentine State News Agency Telam for 'Spreading Propaganda', Reason, 2024-03-04.Claim 444, checked 2026-09-22.