White House launches 'Media Offender of the Week' section on its website to expose 'fake news'

WASHINGTON, DC: The White House under President Trump has launched a new webpage on Saturday, November 29, dedicated to calling out media coverage it regards as misleading and biased.

The site, titled “Misleading. Biased. Exposed,” singles out major news outlets and individual reporters, categorizing them as “media offenders.” 

White House media tracker website and targeted outlets

The web page heading serves as a public ledger of what the White House labels as distorted coverage of Trump’s remarks. 

The page targets major outlets, including The Boston Globe, CBS News and The Independent, designating them as “media‑offenders of the week.”

Each listed article is logged in a database that names reporters and assigns a category to the “offense,” such as “bias, lie or left wing lunacy.”

Among the outlets cited, The Washington Post ranks as the top “offender” on a leaderboard displayed prominently on the site. 

This tracking effort not only catalogues “offending” articles but also promotes a newsletter to issue regular updates, effectively institutionalizing the campaign against media coverage.

The administration’s communication appears designed to publicly shame outlets and journalists whose coverage it views as unfavorable.

Trump previously criticized media outlets like ABC, saying, "I think the license should be taken away from ABC, because your news is so fake and it's so wrong," after an ABC News reporter questioned him about the Jeffrey Epstein political scandal during an Oval Office event with the Saudi crown prince.

He has repeatedly urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revoke the broadcast licenses of ABC and Comcast-owned NBC, arguing that these networks misuse public airwaves.

Criticism and concerns over press freedom

The initiative has drawn immediate criticism. Supporters of press freedom argue that the project is less about correcting legitimate media bias and more about punishing outlets for unfavorable coverage.

For instance, advocacy groups such as the Freedom of the Press Foundation have raised concerns that this web‑tracker could chill free journalism and intimidate reporters into self‑censorship.

The timing of this launch comes amid a broader pattern of confrontations between Trump and media organizations.

Critics note that this new “offender” list could undermine traditional norms of press freedom and fair reporting.

Rather than engaging with specific factual errors in detail or offering corrections, the tracker labels entire articles and individual reporters as “offenders,” a move viewed by some as punitive rather than corrective.

Meanwhile, proponents within the administration argue that the tracker is a tool for holding media accountable, framing it as an effort to expose left-wing bias and misinformation.