Access denied

White House does not let AP reporter in

Once again, a reporter from the AP news agency was denied access to the White House.

(Bild: AFP)

A day after an Associated Press (AP) reporter was barred from reporting from the White House, the largest US news agency has again been denied access. On Wednesday (local time), the AP reporter was prevented for the second day in a row from reporting on the swearing-in of new Secret Service Director Tulsi Gabbard for his medium.

Asked about the repeated restriction, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration wanted to protect itself from "lies" by the media. "We reserve the right to decide who is allowed into the Oval Office," Leavitt told journalists on Wednesday. Asking the US President questions should be seen as an "invitation" and not as a right.

"If we feel that lies are being spread in this room, we will take action," Leavitt continued. She pointed out that it was "a fact" that "the waters off the coast of Louisiana are called the Gulf of America". "And I'm not sure why the news outlets don't want to call it that, but that's the way it is."

Access only if editorial standards are adjusted
On Tuesday, AP editor-in-chief Julie Pace had said that her reporter had been "prevented" from attending the signing of an executive order by Trump in the Oval Office in connection with US President Donald Trump's renaming of the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America". The agency was informed by White House staff that it would be denied access to an event there if it did not "align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump's executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America".

Pace called the process "alarming". Restricting agency access to the White House because of the content of the AP language rule "not only impedes the public's access to independent news," he said. It also "clearly violates the First Amendment".

Largest news agency in the USA
AP is the largest news agency in the USA. Its linguistic rules have been standard reading for newsrooms and corporate offices for years. In a style note last month, AP explained that Trump's decree "is only valid within the United States". As a global news agency that distributes news around the world, AP must "ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences," it continued.

Immediately after taking office, Trump signed a decree that included renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America and Denali Mountain Mount McKinley. Trump called the Gulf an "indelible part of America", particularly because of its importance as a popular tourist destination.