# Milei's government shuts down Argentina's state news agency Telam

Published 2026-09-22. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 1 source.

Status: in effect, as of 2026-09-22.

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]

- Country: [Argentina](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/ar) (RSF 2026 rank: 98th of 180)
- Where: AR
- Level of government: National
- Tactics: Funding and ownership pressure, Licensing and closure of outlets
- Stage: Silence (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/funding_and_ownership_pressure#stage-silence)
- Head of government at the time: [Javier Milei](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/javier-milei)
- Issue of the day: Milei had campaigned against what he called wasteful and politically one-sided state spending, and Telam, founded in 1945, had long been associated with the governments of the Kirchner political movement he defeated in the 2023 election.
- Outcome: Sustained. Telam's original newsroom remained closed; the agency was later reorganized as a smaller state communications operation.
- Era: The 2020s

## 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.[1][2][3][4]

## What reason was given

Milei 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

- 2024-03-04: Milei's government shuts down Argentina's state news agency Telam

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Javier Milei](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/javier-milei) | ordered | President of Argentina |

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Telam](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/telam) | outlet | affected |

## Sources

1. Milei Closes Argentine State News Agency Telam for 'Spreading Propaganda'. https://reason.com/2024/03/04/milei-closes-state-news-agency-telam-for-spreading-propaganda/ (Reason, 2024-03-04).

## Claims cited

[1] Milei's government fenced off Telam's offices and took its site offline, with staff placed on paid leave. Quote: "It is immoral that in a poor country like ours, the government spends the people's money to buy the will of journalists." Source: Reason, 2024-03-04. Milei Closes Argentine State News Agency Telam for 'Spreading Propaganda'. https://reason.com/2024/03/04/milei-closes-state-news-agency-telam-for-spreading-propaganda/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/441, checked 2026-09-22.

[2] Milei described Telam as "a covert propaganda ministry" and "a Kirchnerist propaganda agency." Quote: "a covert propaganda ministry" Source: Reason, 2024-03-04. Milei Closes Argentine State News Agency Telam for 'Spreading Propaganda'. https://reason.com/2024/03/04/milei-closes-state-news-agency-telam-for-spreading-propaganda/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/442, checked 2026-09-22.

[3] The Buenos Aires Press Union called the closure one of the worst actions against freedom of expression in decades of Argentine democracy. Quote: "one of the worst attacks on freedom of expression in the last 40 years of democracy." Source: Reason, 2024-03-04. Milei Closes Argentine State News Agency Telam for 'Spreading Propaganda'. https://reason.com/2024/03/04/milei-closes-state-news-agency-telam-for-spreading-propaganda/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/443, checked 2026-09-22.

[4] The Argentine Journalism Forum said the decision would deepen intolerance toward journalism. Quote: "only exacerbate hostility and intolerance against journalism" Source: Reason, 2024-03-04. Milei Closes Argentine State News Agency Telam for 'Spreading Propaganda'. https://reason.com/2024/03/04/milei-closes-state-news-agency-telam-for-spreading-propaganda/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/444, checked 2026-09-22.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2024-argentina-milei-closes-telam. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.