A Finnish journalist says free speech was violated in response to a report about the State Department scrubbing an award that was meant for her after looking through her social media posts.
Jessikka Aro caught the eye of the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki for her brash reporting on the propaganda machine of the Russian government. Over the past decade, Aro faced death threats and was subject to targeted harassment for her reporting. But her persistence in reporting on Russia led to the U.S. Embassy formally nominating her for the International Women of Courage Award, which was to be presented in Washington by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Sources close to the deliberations over the award told Foreign Policy this plan was jeopardized after increased scrutiny of her Twitter account. Aro, they said, had been an ardent critic of the Trump administration, and the low- and mid-level State officials in charge of awarding the winner were concerned over the optics of Aro being awarded by Pompeo.
The sources said that the email sent to the Finnish journalist informing her that she would be receiving an award was an incorrect notification, explaining the situation as a “lack of coordination in communications with candidates and our embassies.”
Aro took to Twitter, confirming the accounts of the sources. “This unbelievable but true story is such a disgrace and violates freedom of speech,” she tweeted.
This unbelievable but true story is such a disgrace and violates freedom of speech. Please read and share. https://t.co/5NcQXVBGhf
— Jessikka Aro (@JessikkaAro) March 7, 2019
“We regret this error. We admire Ms. Aro’s achievements as a journalist, which were the basis of U.S. Embassy Helsinki’s nomination,” a State Department spokesperson said.
