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Deputy Premier and Labour and
Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio said Tuesday that his 5-Star
Movement (M5S) respected freedom of the press.
Di Maio has come under fire after describing reporters who
worked on a trial that culminated with Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi
being acquitted in a case about an appointment as "jackals".
Another M5S bigwig, Alessandro Di Battista, called
journalists "prostitutes and hacks".
"Freedom of information is sacred for us, but press freedom
cannot be freedom to tell lies, freedom to offend," Di Maio said
in a live broadcast on Facebook.
"If there's freedom to tell lies, I have the right to defend
myself.
"You guarantee a free press primarily by improving the
working conditions of journalists, above all, those that are so
badly paid there are on the verge of exploitation.
"We want to guarantee the free press with fair pay".
Di Maio also said it was a bit rich for the opposition to
attack the M5S over this issue, saying several highly respected
journalists were sidelined at State broadcaster RAI under former
centre-left premier Matteo Renzi and three-time centre-right
premier Silvio Berlusconi.
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