As that great American philosopher, and master of malapropisms, Yogi Berra once said: “It’s Deja vu all over again.”
In the depths of the presidency of Richard Nixon, the White House created a media “hate list” featuring some of the biggest names in the American media. Now, the Trump administration seems to have taken a page out of the Nixon playbook to create its own media blacklist.
In a move that feels equal parts political theatre, digital innovation and “did someone really greenlight this?”, the White House has launched a new section of its official website dedicated to calling out journalists and outlets it says have distorted coverage of President Trump.
Right at the top of the page is the tagline: Misleading. Biased. Exposed.
This week’s spotlighted “media offenders” – the Boston Globe, CBS News and the Independent – are singled out for reporting on Trump’s comments about six Democratic lawmakers who released a video urging service members not to follow illegal orders.
The White House argues its framing was off.
After Trump said the lawmakers had engaged in “seditious behaviour, punishable by death” and reposted a statement containing the phrase “hang them,” several outlets reported it as the President encouraging unlawful military action.
The new page pushes back hard: “The Democrats and Fake News Media subversively implied that President Trump had issued illegal orders to service members. 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.”
A searchable ‘Hall of Shame’
Beyond the weekly offenders is the pièce de résistance: the “Offender Hall of Shame.”
Visitors can browse a fully searchable database of articles – and their authors – tagged with labels like “bias”, “malpractice” or the slightly more expressive “left wing lunacy.”
At the moment, the leaderboard looks like this:
1. Washington Post
2. MSNBC (now MS Now)
3. CBS News
Among the listed examples is a Washington Post article on the US Coast Guard’s classification of hate symbols – one that the Coast Guard later walked back.
The White House has even expanded the broader cast list. Beyond the weekly highlights, it names the Associated Press, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Politico and Axios as outlets guilty of bias or misinformation.
Yes, it’s unusual for an official government website to include a running tally of media accuracy. But in a hyper-competitive information environment – and with a President who has always preferred to speak directly to his audience – it’s also very on-brand.
Whether this turns into a permanent fixture or a very committed election-year cameo remains to be seen.