“‘The knowledge that the United States and other Western democracies are going to be on your case often deters authoritarian leaders from taking these kinds of actions,’ said Representative Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, who was assistant secretary of State for democracy, human rights and labor in the Obama administration. Not any more. Now, he said, ‘the official policy of the president of the United States is that free and independent media are the enemy of the people.'” Ben Smith in the NYT: While America Looks Away, Autocrats Crack Down on Digital News Sites. (Americans are justifiably looking inward to assess the damage of this era. But the damage beyond our borders may take even longer to correct.)

+ Speaking of the damage being done out there, following a wildly inappropriate White House visit just days before an election, Polish President Andrzej Duda (Donald Trump ally, homophobic hate monger, anti-media nationalist, and raving antisemite) just won re-election by the slimmest of margins.