Associated Press Memory Holed for Mislabeling Body of Water
It takes a lifetime to build a reputation and only a moment to ruin it. And that’s what the venerable Associated Press did when they stubbornly refused to accept that the one true name of the 643 quadrillion-gallon body of water just east of Mexico... is the Gulf of America.
AP’s excuse for their blunder – catering to global markets – is a quaint throwback to an era when globalism was still relevant and America wasn’t First. Luckily, the Trump administration acted quickly to protect privileged presidential spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One, from AP's prying eyes. Good riddance to 179 years of comprehensive global news. And take your Pulitzer Prizes with you!
Critics invoking content based censorship are doubleplus wrong! After all, the White House maintains its right to determine who is or isn’t in the room for any reason.
The silver lining to AP’s wrongthink is the possibility of room for a more deserving reporter. Forced or not, undying loyalty is the coin of the realm in this White House. It will surely leave the independence of the free press unchanged. Only Yes Men (and Yes Women) need apply.
SYNTAX ERROR
PRINTING JUST THE FACTS
- The White House barred Associated Press journalists from accessing spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One because AP refused to recognize the Trump administration's renaming of Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America in its reporting.
- AP sued three Trump administration officials (Taylor Budowich, Karoline Leavitt, and Susie Wiles), arguing that the ban violates First and Fifth Amendment rights by coercing journalists to use government-approved language and retaliating against editorial independence.
- A federal judge denied AP's request for a temporary injunction to immediately restore access, stating restrictions to "more private areas" used by the president differ from previous cases though he noted the White House's discrimination seemed "problematic."
- The AP stylebook explained it would continue using "Gulf of Mexico" because as an international agency it must ensure place names are recognizable to all audiences, while acknowledging Trump's executive order only carries authority within the US.
- French journalists covering a Trump-Macron press conference pushed to have a Paris-based AP reporter ask the first question, defying the White House's decision and enabling AP to question both leaders about Ukraine negotiations despite the ban.
- The White House Correspondents Association condemned the ban as "outrageous," and 40 major media outlets including CNN, Fox News, The New York Times, and The Washington Post sent a letter supporting AP, stating "The First Amendment prohibits government control over editorial decisions."
Sources: CBS News, Politico, Reuters, The New York Times, and Independent.
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