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FBI Investigates Threats Against Boston Globe After Coordinated Editorials

BOSTON (CBS) - A war of words is pitting the power of print versus the power of President Trump's Twitter account.

Thursday's edition of the Boston Globe features a full spread taking on President Donald Trump's fake news claims. It's titled "Journalists are not the Enemy of the People."

More than 350 other newspapers around the country answered a plea from the Globe to run similar editorials. "He's increasing his rhetoric and we thought that a united stand in defense of the freedom of the press would make a statement," said Marjorie Pritchard, the Editorial Page's Deputy Managing Editor. "'The enemy of the people', to me, has potential dangerous consequences."

President Trump fired back. Within a couple hours, he posted three tweets on the subject of fake news, one of them directly naming the Boston Globe.

"Now the Globe is in COLLUSION with other papers on free press. PROVE IT!"

"I'm not surprised," said Pritchard about the President's tweets. "We are not the enemy. We are people doing our job, and we need to hold the powerful responsible."

A Boston Police cruiser sat outside the Globe's downtown headquarters, and the FBI is investigating alleged threats called into the newspaper.

"We are taking the advice of local and federal authorities who have recommended some additional security measures," the Boston Globe said in a statement. "The alarming turn of the president's rhetoric -- the specific labeling of the press as an "enemy of the American people" and the opposition party -- does cause us concern about media outlets and the stories we have heard around the country. Journalistic outlets have had threats throughout time but it's the president's rhetoric that gives us the most concern."

From news consumers, opinions were mixed. "I do think he has a valid point," said Dawn Nieman, visiting Boston from Virginia. "I don't watch the news anymore. I'm very, very picky at what I watch. I check multiple sources. I have found especially recently they twist it for their agenda."

Arthur Coe from Boston disagreed. "It's fake because it's not saying what he wants it to say," said Coe. "If you don't call people on their bad behavior, they keep getting away with it."

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