The Society of Professional Journalists urged the White House in a letter Monday to remove a new “media offenders” webpage that seeks to expose unethical newspeople.
The Indianapolis advocacy group warned that the Trump administration exercising its right to correct unfair or inaccurate stories “via a page on the website of the highest office in the country that denigrates and attacks reporters” could fuel threats or violence.
“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,” the society’s National President Chris Vaccaro and ethics czar Dan Axelrod wrote. “On top of the potential chilling effect of the Administration’s action on coverage, SPJ regards this as a form of online harassment that exposes members of the media to potential online or offline threats and even violence.”
Addressing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in the letter, they offered to meet with President Trump to restore civility in his relations with the media.
Reached Tuesday for comment, the White House declined to acknowledge the letter but referred to Ms. Leavitt’s comments from Monday’s press briefing.
Ms. Leavitt said the administration wants to hold the media accountable for “fake stories” with “anonymous sourcing” that mischaracterize the president’s actions.
“And, you know, the standard for journalism, unfortunately, has dropped to such a historic low in this country,” she told reporters. “And again, we deal with it every day, where you can have an anonymous source who has no idea what they’re talking about, zero credibility, call up a reporter in Washington and say, ‘Hey, I heard this,’ and then the next thing you know, it’s on the front page of The New York Times.”
The White House website added the media offenders section over the weekend. It includes a media offender of the week and a searchable “offender hall of shame.”
The Society of Professional Journalists’ letter objected to the webpage naming reporters whom the White House accuses of promoting “lies,” “left-wing lunacy” and “malpractice.”
The SPJ also flagged Mr. Trump recently calling a Bloomberg journalist “piggy” when she asked a question he didn’t like and calling a female New York Times reporter “ugly, both inside and out.”
“Journalists, particularly women, already face an enormous amount of online harassment, and this can convert into physical violence, as we have seen in recent years,” Mr. Vaccaro and Mr. Axelrod wrote.
The president has complained in court for years that news outlets distort, misrepresent and unfairly edit his words.
He has settled lawsuits with ABC News and CBS News and sued The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He also recently threatened to sue the BBC for up to $5 billion in libel damages over an edited 2021 speech.
