In February, the White House announced that it had banned the Associated Press from accessing certain press events because of its refusal to rename a body of water the Gulf of America. The White House also says it will exert greater control over which news outlets would get access to the President.

In response the Associated Press has filed a lawsuit against three Trump administration officials alleging violation of the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of the press, speech and religion without the interference of the government. Trump administration lawyers argued in court filings that the Associated Press does not have a constitutional right to specific presidential events.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. The Associated Press said in a style guide update that it would continue to ‘refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen’ because of the news agency’s international audience. Trump’s order, covering a body of water that is bordered by the US, Mexico and Cuba, only carries authority within the US.

The Associated Press has historically been part of a press pool made up of major US media outlets that cover presidential events and share information with hundreds of other journalists across the political spectrum. Associated Press journalists are still allowed on White House grounds, but they have been excluded from attending press events in areas such as the Oval Office and aboard Air Force One.

Mel Bunce, a professor of international journalism and politics at City St George’s, University of London, says that the seriousness of the ban is underscored by the vital role of the Associated Press as a conduit for information. ‘The Associated Press is an incredibly important news organisation that is relied on by hundreds of news outlets around the world. Alongside Reuters and AFP, it is one of the most important building blocks of the international news system,’ she says. ‘It is one of the most rigorous and fact-based news organisations, and their news is shared globally – to millions of people in audiences around the world. And that’s why this is such a red flag’.

In a show of solidarity against the ban, 40 news organisations signed a letter urging the White House to reverse the restrictions on the Associated Press. The signatories included outlets like Fox News and Newsmax, where many of the broadcasters and audience members are Trump supporters. In February, a judge declined a request from the Associated Press to immediately restore its access to presidential events but described the ban as ‘problematic’ and advised the government that ‘case law in this circuit is uniformly unhelpful to the White House’.

Amy Brouillette is Director of Advocacy at the International Press Institute, an organisation that works to defend press freedom and independent journalism. ‘Limiting access to media pool events because of the news agency’s editorial decisions stifles freedom of speech,’ she says. ‘News organisations should be allowed to make editorial decisions without fear of retaliation from government officials.’

The Associated Press ban follows a series of attacks by the Trump administration on the media. Bunce co-authored a book, Capturing News, Capturing Democracy, which explores the crackdown by the first Trump presidency on Voices of America, a federally funded independent news organisation with a large international reach. ‘There was extreme scrutiny at the news organisation. Individual journalists were accused of being biased, and it was harder and harder to get visas for and resources for reporting. Journalists started self-censoring, because they were worried they would get in trouble,’ she says.

In March Trump signed an executive order to defund Voices of America, accusing it of being ‘anti-Trump’ and ‘radical’. The director of Voice of America, Mike Abramowitz announced that almost his entire staff of 1,300 people had been placed on administrative leave.

The Trump administration’s decision to dismantle the US foreign aid agency, and the 90-day freeze on foreign development assistance funding, is also impacting independent journalism internationally. ‘The recent freezing of US aid is having a very serious impact on the media and civil society organisations that play a role in ensuring accountability and transparency,’ says Brouillette. ‘The role that the media and civil society play is not only important for democracy but it’s also important for peace and security.’

Brouillette says that the freeze on foreign aid is emboldening authoritarians around the world who have already been trying to eradicate independent free media. ‘It may allow Russia and China new avenues to expand their influence in countries,’ she says.

Brouillette adds that the freezing of aid is forcing the international community to address urgent questions around the sustainability of media. ‘It really put a spotlight on the question of how independent media will sustain itself without the support of governments or advertising, and how will it move forward without risks of capture,’ she says. ‘These are questions that have always been important but in the last 60 days have become more pronounced’.

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