The White House prevented a reporter from The Associated Press on Tuesday to cover an event in the Oval Office after demanding the news agency to alter its style about the Gulf of Mexico ,.
The reporter, whose identity will not be released by the AP, tried to enter the White House event as usual on Tuesday afternoon and was rejected. Hours later, access to a second AP reporter for an event in the White House diplomatic room was banned.
The unusual veto, that Trump’s officials had shortly threatened to impose unless the AP changed their style on the Gulf of Mexico, could have constitutional implications on freedom of expression.
Julie Pace, senior vice president and executive director of The Associated Press, described the unacceptable measure. “It is alarming that Trump’s government punish the AP for his independent journalism,” Pace said in a statement. “Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of the AP speech not only seriously hinders public access to independent news, but clearly violates the” of the United States Constitution.
The Trump government did not make ads about the measure so far, and there were no indications that other journalists were affected. Trump has long had a hostile relationship with the media. On Friday, the Administration expelled a second group of news organizations from the Pentagon office space.
Before his investiture on January 20, Trump announced plans to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of the United States”, and signed an executive order in that regard as soon as he assumed the position. The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, responded sarcastically and others pointed out that the change of name would probably not affect global use.
In addition to the United States, the water body – called Gulf of Mexico for more than 400 years – also borders Mexico.
The AP said last month, three days after Trump’s possession, that he would continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico as such while he also reported Trump’s decision to rename it. As a global news agency that spreads news worldwide, the AP indicates that you must ensure that the names of places and geography are easily recognizable for all audiences.
The AP style is not only used by the agency. The AP style manual is used by thousands of journalists and other editors worldwide.
Prohibiting entry to an AP reporter was a grievance to the first amendment of the United States Constitution, which prohibits the government from hindering freedom of the press, said Tim Richardson, director of the Pen America journalism and misinformation program.
The White House correspondent association pointed out that the action of the presidential residence was unacceptable and asked the government to change course. “The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should it penalize active journalists because they are not satisfied with the decision of their editors,” said Eugene Daniels, president of the association.
“The White House cannot dictate how news organizations report the news, nor should it penalize active journalists because they are not satisfied with the decision of their editors.”
This week, Google Maps began using “Gulf of the United States” on the grounds that it had a “practical old” of following the provisions of the United States government in such matters. The other leading online maps supplier, Apple Maps, was still using “Gulf of Mexico” on early Tuesday, but for the afternoon the name of “Gulf of the United States” had changed in some search engines, although at least one search found results For both.
Trump also decreed that the mountain in Alaska known as Monte McKinley and then by its indigenous name, Denali, resumed the name in honor of the 25th president of the United States. President Barack Obama had ordered to be renamed Denali in 2015. The AP said last month that it will use the official name change to Mount McKinley because the area is found exclusively in the United States and Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country.
“Hard blow to freedom of the press”
Already last Monday, the Organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in which Trump “restricting public access to government information.” Among other measures that qualify as “worrying”, its administration “has eliminated official web pages, has suppressed vital data that were previously available to citizens and has limited journalists’ access to the White House and Pentagon.”
Given these attacks on press freedom, the NGO “urges Congress to take urgent measures to stop this trend and demand responsibilities to the White House for its actions against public transparency,” reads the statement.
Despite signing an executive order apparently aimed at strengthening the rights of the first amendment, he says, his administration has taken measures “that go in the opposite direction, undermining press freedom.”
And its enumeration begins. At the end of January, for example, government officials “began eliminating thousands of web pages from key federal agencies, such as the centers for disease control and prevention, the Department of Justice, the Census Office, the Department of Health and human services and the Environmental Protection Agency “. In addition, the press and communication teams of several government agencies “have received the order not to make public statements.”
The Trump administration “has begun to restrict the physical access of journalists to government information.” During the last week of January, the White House “would have limited the access of certain profiles of journalists to the groups of informants to which the president’s daily activities are detailed, without offering any explanation to the journalists about this decision,” denounces.
This measure adds to the announcement of the White House that “will allow podcasters, influencers and content creators request credentials to cover their activities. “In parallel, the Pentagon has announced the implementation of an” Annual Media Rotation Program. “In this way, means that previously had a fixed presence in their units, such as NBC News, The New York TimesNational Public Radio y Politico“They will no longer automatically retain those spaces.”
Although these initiatives are presented as “an attempt to democratize access to information, in practice they could further restrict the presence of professional journalists and give way to creators of ideologically related content, thus limiting pluralism in the coverage of the administration” , Dhonda RSF.
“Assume the position and, immediately, eliminate web pages, hide government data and interfere with the access of journalists, feel an alarming precedent. Donald Trump must understand that, in a democracy, citizens have the legitimate right to access information from information from public interest. , director of the RSF office in North America.
The systematic dismantling of professional journalism
The restrictions imposed by the Republican President to access information are part of a broader attack against the media, RSF denounces. During his electoral campaign, Trump already launched constant threats against journalists and media, “accumulating 108 verbal attacks in just four weeks,” said RSF.
Already in the position, “he has continued to press to punish the media that are uncomfortable, getting to wield the threat of revoking emission licenses.” His newly appointed president of the Federal Communications Commission has begun to materialize these warnings, initiating investigations unfounded by supposed “news distortion” and against public broadcasters PBS and NPR for their sponsorship agreements.
On February 6, Trump ordered government agencies to stop paying subscriptions to certain means. In addition, “his decision to freeze foreign aid has plunged journalistic organizations from all over the world, severely hindering the coverage of news in strategic regions for the United States, such as Ukraine and Iran.”
The United States currently occupies the 55th of the 180 countries analyzed in the 2024 of RSF.
