As the Trump presidency unfolds, the White House is facing the challenge of dealing with the media, particularly fake news, which is a hot topic on social media and online media outlets. In recent months, the administration has taken a variety of steps to challenge and discredit the media, including hiring unusual staff to strategically discredit reporters and attack stories they don’t like. Here’s an overview of the White House’s plan to discredit reporters.White House's Plan To Discredit Reporters
White House's Plan To Discredit Reporters
One of the White House’s strategies is to target reporters they don’t like and attack them via social media. In March 2017, President Trump took to Twitter to attack a reporter from The New York Times for allegedly misquoting him. The President also accused the media of using “fake news” to undermine him, accusing select mainstream media outlets of running stories that are not fact checked.The White House Attacks Reporters
The White House Attacks Reporters
In June 2017, the Trump White House started a website called “Correct the Record”, designed as a platform to track and refute what the administration considers to be “fake news” stories spread by the media. The website includes a database of news outlets, which can be used to mobilize people to challenge and discredit certain stories. Trump White House Discredit Reporters Plan
Trump White House Discredit Reporters Plan
The White House also sought to use its own data to attack stories it didn’t like. In August 2017, it launched an initiative to use administrative data to discredit reports from news outlets. The initiative involved gathering and analyzing data and statistics to refute stories that the White House deemed to be untrue. Dealing With Fake News: White House Plan To Discredit Reporters
Dealing With Fake News: White House Plan To Discredit Reporters
In addition to “Correct the Record”, the White House also has an online dashboard called “Fake Stat of the Day” which uses administrative data to rebuttal stories published by major media outlets. The “Fake Stat of the Day” is a way to track and discredit stories and reporters who, according to the White House, distort the truth. Using Data To Discredit Reporters
Using Data To Discredit Reporters
The White House has also hired unusual staff to strategically discredit reporters and journalists. These staffers include former digital media manager Justin Warren who has experience creating viral content and directing digital media strategy projects for a number of conservative and Republican organizations. Warren was hired to lead the White House’s strategy to discredit reporters. The White House also hired social media manager, Doug Bagniewski, who has experience in shaping public perception on social media and using social media algorithms to manipulate news and trending topics. White House Strategy To Discredit Journalists
White House Strategy To Discredit Journalists
The White House’s team also includes state-aided trolls who, according to reports, use their personal Instagram and Twitter accounts to [attack] journalists and spread fake news. The team uses their social accounts to promote false information and manipulate facts to discredit certain stories the White House doesn’t like. The Attack Plan: Discrediting Reporters at the White House
The Attack Plan: Discrediting Reporters at the White House
The White House also uses its weight to pressure media outlets to discredit certain stories. In March 2017, the White House questioned CNN’s reporters about the credibility of a story they published, alleging that the White House was in possession of a secret report about President Trump’s associates colluding with Russian officials. The White House put nearly constant pressure on the outlet to issue corrections and retractions to its stories they deemed to be inaccurate.White House Pressure - Discrediting Reporters
White House Pressure - Discrediting Reporters
The White House also hires extra social media managers to strategically target and discredit certain media companies and reporters. In June 2017, the White House hired former YouTube star Lynnette Hardaway to oversee its digital media strategy and, according to reports, to discredit certain reporters. Hardaway has a large following on social media, which the administration could use to sway public opinion away from unfavorable stories.White House Hiring Social Media Managers To Discredit Reporters
White House Hiring Social Media Managers To Discredit Reporters
The White House also makes use of bots to generate fake news and discredit negative stories and reporters. According to a report, the Trump campaign hired a company called News Wave to generate bots that spread false or misleading stories about President Trump and his associates. The bots are a way to manipulate public opinion away from unfavorable and critical stories surrounding the administration.Trump Strategy To Discredit Reporters
Trump Strategy To Discredit Reporters
The White House has come up with a variety of plans to target and discredit reporters and media outlets they don’t like. In June 2017, the administration hired a team of social media managers, state-aided trolls, and bots to create and spread fake news stories and discredit unfavorable stories around the president. The aim is to control and manipulate public opinion away from unflattering news stories.White House Designs Discrediting Reporters Plan
White House Designs Discrediting Reporters Plan
The White House Plan to Discredit Reporters
Recent reports have revealed that the White House has been strategizing to discredit certain reporters. This plan is meant to undermine the credibility of those whom the administration finds critical of its agendas and policies. The news has sparked outrage across the nation, but what could the White House achieve with such a move?
Threatening the Media
Poisoning the public's trust in independent media by discouraging credible reporting has always been a tactic of totalitarian regimes. We have seen the consequence of this in countries like Russia, where journalists have to watch what they say, or else face punitive action and professional ruin. It’s not hard to see why the White House would try and do something similar to the reporters they disapprove of. The ultimate goal is to threaten the media through personal attacks in order to deter them from performing their job of covering the news impartially and truthfully.
Distorting Reality
One of the major consequences of the White House attempting to discredit reporters is that it could lead to an alternate reality being propped up as the truth. With White House sources, assorted pundits, and even congressional aides aligned to the administration now echoing their own campaign against reporters, it provides the administration with a platform to push their preferred version of the news. This will stifle any independent investigation or commentary on the actions of the administration.
Diverting from Actual Issues
As the debates heat up on social
media
and news, we often forget that these tactics and distractions are meant to divert us from the more pressing issues. Instead of debating the appropriateness of the White House’s strategy, we ought to be worried about the policies that are being announced instead. It’s important to recognize that this strategy could be used by the White House to keep us from focusing on the real wrongdoing that’s happening right in front of our eyes.
The Cost of Free Speech
The chilling effect of such a practice would be that it would discourage anyone from speaking the truth and reporting facts without fear of retribution. This would ultimately make it more difficult for citizens to defend their rights to
free speech
with any degree of certainty. This could hamper progress in American politics, creating a dangerous environment where independent reporting is just as alarmingly common as political propaganda.
Speak Up and Remind Them
It is important that we, as citizens, keep the White House accountable. Remind our representatives and elected officials that the only way to establish a truly honest democracy is by protecting investigative journalism and a free media. Don’t let the White House get away with their attempts to label a certain branch of the media as an opposition or a threat. This is the only way to ensure that our freedom of expression is safeguarded and that our government cannot manipulate the truth to fit their own agenda.
