White House Launches Official 'Media Offenders' Portal Targeting Press as Enemies

On November 29, 2025, the Trump White House launched an official government webpage titled ‘Media Offenders’ (whitehouse.gov/mediabias)—a public enemies list for journalists and news organizations that criticize the administration. Announced the previous day by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the portal features an ‘Offender Hall of Shame’ database that categorizes articles, outlets, and individual reporters with labels including ‘bias,’ ‘false claim,’ ’lie,’ ’left-wing lunacy,’ and ‘misrepresentation.’ The page includes a weekly ‘Media Offender of the Week’ designation and maintains a ranked ’leaderboard’ of outlets deemed most problematic, with The Washington Post listed at the top, followed by MSNBC, CBS News, CNN, The New York Times, Politico, and The Wall Street Journal.

The inaugural ‘offenders of the week’ were The Boston Globe (a 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist), CBS News, and The Independent. Major American news organizations listed on the portal include ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, Reuters, NPR, PBS, Axios, Politico, and even The Wall Street Journal. Individual journalists were also targeted by name, including Andrew Feinberg and Eric Garcia of The Independent. The portal allows users to search by keywords or article headlines and provides a system for categorizing each alleged media transgression.

On December 3, 2025, the White House added a public tipline encouraging Americans to ‘submit biased or undeniably false articles’ to help ‘keep the Media Bias Portal updated.’ This crowdsourcing mechanism effectively deputizes supporters to identify journalists and outlets for inclusion on the government’s enemies list. Reporters Without Borders documented that the portal also featured personal attacks on individual journalists: Catherine Lucey of Bloomberg was called ‘piggy,’ a New York Times correspondent was labeled ‘ugly inside and out,’ and CBS’s Nancy Cordes was asked if she was ‘stupid.’

The Society of Professional Journalists issued a formal letter on December 1, 2025, demanding removal of the webpage and warning that ‘By publishing reporters’ names, outlets and specific stories, the White House is naming and shaming members of the press in a highly charged political and social environment.’ SPJ characterized the portal as ‘a form of online harassment that exposes members of the media to potential online or offline threats and even violence.’ The organization emphasized that the practice ‘raises serious press-freedom concerns, heightens the risk of harassment or harm to reporters, mirrors tactics used by authoritarian governments abroad, and undermines the respectful, accountable relationship that should exist between the nation’s highest office and the free press.’

Reporters Without Borders condemned the portal, stating ‘The Trump White House’s war on press freedom is growing increasingly petulant’ and accused the administration of ‘weaponizing public resources to launch his political attacks against the press.’ RSF noted the page employs ‘information washing,’ a tactic ‘increasingly employed by authoritarian regimes.’ Constitutional experts and press freedom advocates drew explicit parallels to Richard Nixon’s infamous enemies list, noting that while presidents have long criticized coverage, creating formal governmental infrastructure to systematically identify and target journalists represents a dangerous escalation with authoritarian overtones.

Washington Post Executive Editor Matt Murray responded: ‘Let’s be clear what’s happening here: the wrongful and intentional targeting of journalists by government officials for exercising a constitutionally protected right. The Washington Post will not be dissuaded and will continue to report rigorously and accurately in service to all of America.’ Veteran political journalist Sam Youngman stated: ‘This is about intimidation. They want an online mob, a gang, an army of thugs to harass and intimidate hardworking reporters.’ Press freedom organizations warned that government-sanctioned lists of disfavored outlets could fundamentally change how journalism operates in America, with experts noting the critical difference between officials criticizing coverage and building institutional mechanisms for identifying problematic journalism.

Senator Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), who along with other Democratic lawmakers was separately labeled ‘seditious’ by the White House for reminding military personnel to refuse illegal orders, dismissed the tactics as those of ‘bullies,’ adding that it would not stop him and his colleagues ‘from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable.’ The portal launch occurred alongside escalating threats to press freedom, including the Trump administration’s cuts to federal funding for NPR, PBS, Voice of America, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Legal experts and journalism organizations began examining potential litigation options if constitutional violations could be established, while press freedom advocates warned the portal could chill free journalism and intimidate reporters into self-censorship through the threat of government-directed harassment.