Milei’s war against Perfil, his state advertising lies and attacks on the press

The Committee on Freedom of Expression in Argentina’s Congress has no freedom of expression. The national deputies who sit on it say it has been censored, that it convenes no working meetings and that it carries out no legislative task whatsoever. Congress sources maintain that its chairman, Guillermo Montenegro, of La Libertad Avanza, has left it paralysed. And, more worrying still, they say the committee keeps no record of the challenges facing journalism in Javier Milei's Argentina.

For that reason, on Friday, September 11, a "parallel" meeting of the Chamber of Deputies' Committee on Freedom of Expression was held at Congress' Anexo building. The session was called by the committee’s vice-chairs Nicolás Trotta, of the opposition Unión por la Patria caucus, and Lourdes Arrieta, of Provincias Unidas (the coalition of provincial governors), along with several sitting lawmakers, including Mónica Frade (Coalición Cívica); Marcela Pagano, (Coherencia); Romina del Plá (Partido Obrero-Frente de Izquierda); and Hugo Yasky (Unión por la Patria), among others.

Among the various journalists who spoke there, including Paula Moreno Román, of the journalism watchgod FOPEA; Claudio Jacquelin, of La Nación; Nancy Pazos, of C5N; Sebastián Lacunza, of DiarioAR; Mónica Gutiérrez, of radio station FM Milenium; and Natasha Niebieskikwiat, of Clarín, I was invited to speak on behalf of Perfil. My presentation was divided into three parts: first, Milei's war on Editorial Perfil; second, the lie propagated by Milei regarding national public advertising; and third, his constant attacks on the press in Argentina.

Milei's war on Perfil

On April 5, 2024, Noticias magazine published a cover story headlined ‘El misterio de los perros de Milei: delirio y misticismo’ ("The mystery of Milei's dogs: delirium and mysticism"). The article was an investigation by Juan Luis González, author of El loco, the bestselling unauthorised biography of Milei, which reported that the President spoke of Conan, his dog that died in 2017, as if he were still alive. It also revealed that a genetic sample of the pooch had been sent to the United States for cloning, and detailed information on the five surviving clones, named after economists. It further revealed details of alleged "interspecies" dialogue (conducted through mediums) that the head of state uses to communicate with Conan.

Before the magazine went to print, Milei’s advisor Santiago Caputo contacted the newsroom. "If you publish that cover, we'll take it as a declaration of war," Caputo threatened. The Noticias cover revealing the story of Milei's dogs was published anyway. And Milei launched his war on Editorial Perfil.

On April 9, 2024, just five days after the article’s publication, in a lengthy interview lasting more than three hours on Neura with Alejandro Fantino – who, curiously, was not among the speakers who addressed Congress this week on the severity of Argentine journalism's plight – Milei went after Editorial Perfil and its founder, Jorge Fontevecchia. He called the Perfil newspaper a "rag" and said the company was "heading for bankruptcy." He added, with a smile: "Great."

(Despite Milei, Editorial Perfil did not go bankrupt. The newspaper is, in fact, expanding its print edition of Perfil: starting November, it will be published every day. Although we are well aware of the crisis facing print newspapers, we believe it is important to do so in order to fight the algorithm that dictates to readers what to read, and we will be donating copies of the weekly edition to parents of school-age children.)

We are talking about a president who calls for, and celebrates, the bankruptcy of a national newspaper. Some were outraged, and we were too, when senior officials from previous governments tore up a newspaper in public (a famous incident with the Kirchnerite administration and its main antagonist, Clarín). But there was no similar outrage now over this blatant attack by Milei on Perfil. Since then, Editorial Perfil has filed several lawsuits against Milei: for damages, for maliciously interfering with the operations of a private company, for non-payment of outstanding public advertising debts, for incitement to violence against journalists and for defamation against Fontevecchia.

State advertising lies

Milei says national state advertising (or what is commonly known locally as ‘pauta’) ended the moment his La Libertad Avanza party took office. 

That is a lie. Editorial Perfil is the only media company being discriminated against in the placement of advertising by the Milei government. It is exactly the same procedure used during the presidencies of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. In January 2024, for example, the Milei government authorised payments owed dating back to ex-president Alberto Fernández's term and arranged refunds to more than 20 media companies across the country, for a sum exceeding 200 million pesos. Yet Editorial Perfil remains, to this day, the only media group that has not had that debt settled.

It is true that "formal" state advertising, which used to be issued through Argentina’s Secretaría de Medios (Media Secretariat), has been "suspended." But the channel Milei now relies on runs, for the most part, through state energy firm YPF and other public  companies. According to balance sheets filed by the YPF, the increase has been exponential: in 2023, Alberto Fernández's last year in office, advertising investment spend stood at 31,749 million pesos; in 2024, Milei's first year, it soared to 97,110 million pesos, a nominal year-on-year increase of 205 percent; while, in 2025, the figure reached 128,838 million pesos (about US$85 million), a nominal year-on-year increase of 33 percent. Since Milei took office, public advertising has increased by 305 percent in nominal terms, far outpacing inflation. Nevertheless, the government continues to claim that its public advertising spend is zero.

It's true, it must be said, that YPF's adverts are genuinely very good. They are likeable, entertaining and appeal to nationalism and sport. They are extremely well-crafted advertisements, featuring Lionel Messi, other figures from the national football team and Franco Colapinto. They show successful Argentines who represent the whole country. They're smiling, and they come across as very friendly. But behind those adverts are Milei and Santiago Caputo, rewarding friendly media outlets and punishing critical ones, like Perfil. To repeat: it is the same methodology used by Kirchnerism.

Caputo directly controls the three "taps" of public advertising used by the government, despite Milei’s promise to eliminate it altogether: YPF, state airline Aerolíneas Argentinas and Banco Nación. When public advertising was distributed through the Media Secretariat, every government was legally obliged to disclose where those funds went. But since Milei shut down that body, Caputo now runs an enormous, multimillion-peso budget with total discretion: YPF does not disclose which media outlets it advertises with and refuses to provide concrete data. 

Chequeado, the fact-checking website, and Perfil, acting as "amicus curiae," have filed a request with the Agencia de Acceso a la Información (Access to Information Agency) for the government to disclose where that spending goes. There is a favourable legal precedent for Perfil: in March 2025 the Cámara Contencioso Administrativo Federal (Federal Administrative Litigation Court) ruled that Aerolíneas Argentinas must hand over the list of media outlets receiving libertarian government advertising.

Attacks on the press

Milei's insults toward journalists have already become a macabre routine. The President has an anal fixation: critical journalists are "mandrills," because that animal has a red anus. Milei also has a scatological fixation. As a result, his insults include jibes such as "human shit" or "a wretched piece of shit." He says this constantly to colleagues who report news or analysis he dislikes. It bears repeating, so there is no doubt: this is a President insulting journalists constantly. How much longer are we going to keep pretending all of this is normal?

Although Milei's constant insults toward journalists have become a regrettable everyday occurrence that some have come to normalise, we are not facing the worst period for practising journalism. Because we are still able to do our work. And because there were times in recent history when journalists were murdered, such as José Luis Cabezas. Next year marks three decades since that mafia-style crime, which sought to silence Editorial Perfil. That is why we brought a bill before the Buenos Aires City Legislature, which was later taken up by the leaders of every congressional caucus except La Libertad Avanza, to create Calle José Luis Cabezas Street: the street where Editorial Perfil is located, in the Barracas neighbourhood will be renamed. On January 25, 2027, when 30 years will have passed since that horrendous murder, a monument honouring Cabezas will be unveiled on the corner by Editorial Perfil’s offices.

It is clear we are not facing the worst moment for the practice of journalism in Argentina's history. But that does not mean we shouldn't sound every alarm. A few months ago, for example, the government shut down the press room for journalists at the Casa Rosada. In that very same room, on December 13, 1979, journalist José Ignacio López asked then-dictator Jorge Rafael Videla about the disappeared. He responded with a horrifying, shameful line: “The disappeared person has no legal standing, he is not there, neither dead nor alive, he is disappeared." Even Videla answered questions from journalists who worked in the Casa Rosada's press room. Milei has done what Videla did not do.

That is why we are asking Congress' Committee on Freedom of Expression to take up an initiative, backed by many journalists, to celebrate ‘Journalists’ Day’ on December 13. We consider Mariano Moreno an honourable figure, and we recognise the role that La Gaceta de Buenos Aires played in the history of Argentine journalism, but we believe democracy calls for a new Journalists' Day: we want it to be December 13, to remember every year the value that a journalist's question always carries. Even when, in asking that question, a journalist puts his or her own life at risk.