Belgian Media's Two-Minute Delay of Trump's Speech Triggers Political Dispute

RTBF's use of a 'media cordon sanitaire' to broadcast Trump's inaugural address in delayed format has sparked criticism over journalistic ethics and media practices.

• RTBF, a Belgian public broadcaster, aired Donald Trump's inaugural speech with a two-minute delay, citing the 'media cordon sanitaire' to analyze and contextualize potential harmful rhetoric.
• The 'media cordon sanitaire' is a long-standing policy in French-speaking Belgium aimed at limiting the unfiltered broadcast of content deemed racist, extremist, or anti-democratic.
• Critics, including Belgian political figures from the right-leaning Mouvement Réformateur party, argue the decision undermines journalistic neutrality and democratic principles.
• The controversy has led Belgium's Media Minister Jacqueline Galant to request clarification on RTBF's methodology and the legal basis for applying the policy to an international figure like Trump.
• RTBF journalists defend the decision as consistent with Belgian media ethics, emphasizing that the speech was broadcast in full without censorship but not live.

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Marianne Libération Le Figaro