The White House unveiled a new website section on Friday titled “Media Offender of the Week,” dedicated to identifying what it describes as misleading coverage by news organizations.
The page features a “Hall of Shame” spotlighting major outlets, including CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post, and CBS News, along with claims the administration labels as biased or false reporting. Announced by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the new site feature promises to chronicle what it calls false and misleading stories flagged by the administration.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email on Sunday for comment.
Why It Matters
This initiative represents an unprecedented formalization of President Donald Trump’s decades-long campaign against mainstream media outlets he frequently labels as “fake news.”
The launch comes amid heightened scrutiny of Trump’s treatment of journalists, including a November 14 incident where he told a female Bloomberg reporter “quiet, piggy” and appeared to wave a finger in her face when she attempted to ask about the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The move also intensifies concerns about press freedom and the traditional relationship between the White House and news media, particularly as it targets outlets owned by figures across the political spectrum—from Jeff Bezos‘s Washington Post to David Ellison’s CBS News, despite Trump previously praising Ellison’s Paramount acquisition as beneficial for press freedom.
What To Know
The website features multiple sections categorizing media coverage under labels including “Bias,” “Lie,” “Malpractice,” and “Left-wing Lunacy.” This week’s focus centers on coverage of Trump’s response to a video where six Democratic members of Congress, including Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, urged service members to refuse illegal orders and remember their constitutional oath. Trump responded on Truth Social, stating “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” and reposting another comment declaring “HANG THEM.”
The administration argues media outlets mischaracterized Trump’s posts as calling for executions. According to the White House, the “truth” is that Trump called for accountability for what he describes as incitement of military insubordination, with talking points emphasizing that “President Trump has never issued an illegal order.”
The site lists numerous outlets as “repeat offenders,” including The New York Times, Axios, Politico, ABC News, The Hill, and The Associated Press. The Wall Street Journal appears on the “leaderboard” despite Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Murdoch-owned outlet over coverage allegedly connecting him to Epstein, a convicted sex offender. Notably absent from all lists is Fox News. The site features detailed listings of dozens of TV segments and articles, along with a word cloud visualization of alleged offenders.
CBS News appears prominently despite Trump’s recent praise for the network under new leadership. Following Ellison’s summer takeover of Paramount and Bari Weiss’s appointment as editor-in-chief, Trump called the changes beneficial for press freedom and described Weiss as “a great person” during a recent 60 Minutes interview—his first since receiving a $16 million settlement over a pre-election interview the program did with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Pentagon announced Monday it may recall Kelly, a retired U.S. Navy captain, to active duty for potential court-martial proceedings under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
What People Are Saying
White House’s statement on the new website tracker: “The media misrepresented President Trump’s call for Members of Congress to be held accountable for inciting sedition by saying that he called for their ‘execution.’ The Democrats and Fake News Media subversively implied that President Trump had issued illegal orders to service members. Every order President Trump has issued has been lawful. It is dangerous for sitting Members of Congress to incite insubordination in the United States’ military, and President Trump called for them to be held accountable.”
Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta told MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, on Saturday: “I think Donald Trump has cracked the code on how to hurt the press in this country with these lawsuits that have been settled. It’s done terrible damage to the industry, I think, by and large when he puts that kind of stuff up on the White House website.”
The Washington Post responded to the White House, quoting a spokesperson who stated: “The Washington Post is proud of its accurate, rigorous journalism.
Seth Stern, director of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, told The Washington Post: “People understand the obvious conflict inherent in a presidential administration appointing itself the arbiter of media bias, and I expect that after the initial wave of publicity, few Americans will be paying attention to this latest stunt.”
He added: “The gimmick is wearing thin.”
What Happens Next?
The administration appears positioned to update the “Media Offender of the Week” tracker regularly.
