Federal authorities funds to information shops like Politico, the New York Occasions, and the Related Press for subscriptions or to license content material are within the crosshairs of Trump administration spending hawks, with the President on Thursday calling it probably “THE BIGGEST SCANDAL OF THEM ALL.”
It’s the newest in a collection of skirmishes with the media, lengthy a goal of Donald Trump and his supporters. The Protection Division final week evicted NPR, NBC, the Occasions, and Politico from their Pentagon workspaces, and Trump has continued to criticize CBS’ 60 Minutes for its dealing with of an interview with former opponent Kamala Harris final fall. Free press advocates are additionally involved about Trump’s plans for the media outlet Voice of America, whose constitution ensures its editorial freedom.
This time, although, is a bit completely different. By linking federal authorities spending to the media, Trump has bundled two of his long-favored political targets into one rhetorical bundle—denouncing a standard follow as untoward whereas providing no supporting proof for his assertions.
On Wednesday, White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned the federal government had paid greater than $8 million for Politico subscriptions and that Elon Musk’s authorities effectivity workforce “is engaged on canceling these funds.” That shortly set off a social-media maelstrom and a hunt by on-line sleuths for different proof of taxpayer spending on the information.
“The U.S. authorities should cease paying for media subscriptions. Instantly,” Richard Grenell, Trump’s particular mission envoy, posted on X.
Trump, on his Fact Social platform, complained about funds to the “FAKE NEWS MEDIA” for creating good tales about Democrats. “Did the New York Occasions obtain cash??? Who else did??? THIS COULD BE THE BIGGEST SCANDAL OF THEM ALL,” he wrote.
And at a nationwide prayer breakfast on the Capitol on Thursday morning, Trump touted the efforts to look into the media spending. “We’re catching them left and proper,” Trump mentioned. “We’re catching them. We’re catching them to a degree the place they don’t know what the heck is occurring. They will’t imagine they’re getting caught.”
Governments paying for information shops’ content material is frequent
Politico, in a press release to readers from CEO Goli Sheikholeslami and Editor-in-Chief John Harris, mentioned Thursday that it’s not getting a authorities subsidy.
“It’s a transaction—simply as the federal government buys analysis, gear, software program and business reviews,” they mentioned. “Some on-line voices are intentionally spreading falsehoods. Let’s be clear: Politico has no monetary dependence on the federal government and no hidden agenda. We cowl politics and coverage—that’s our job.”
It has not been uncommon for governments, federal and state, to subscribe to main media shops to maintain up on vital or strategic points. The U.S. State Division, for instance, might depend upon worldwide information reporting for readability on incidents taking place in international locations the place the US has pursuits. Specialists in an company just like the Division of Transportation comply with commerce publications for business developments.
The Politico Professional service helps authorities and personal sector prospects “monitor coverage, laws and laws in actual time with information, intelligence and a set of knowledge merchandise,” the corporate mentioned. It will not talk about what number of subscriptions it has offered, or the costs.
The New York Occasions mentioned it earned lower than $2 million final 12 months by way of authorities subscriptions, that are supplied at a reduced charge. By one association, the Occasions offers entry to greater than 1 million lively and retired navy members and their households.
“These officers and different public servants are merely searching for to higher perceive the world by way of our impartial journalism, like hundreds of thousands of different Individuals,” spokesman Charlie Stadtlander mentioned.
Elon Musk’s voice can also be within the combine
Musk, additionally a frequent critic of the mainstream media and the proprietor of a platform that in some ways competes with it, retweeted one message on X that complained concerning the AP “raking in hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in authorities cash for years.”
“Not for lengthy,” Musk added. ”That is clearly an enormous waste of taxpayer cash.”
AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton mentioned that “the U.S. authorities has lengthy been an AP buyer— by way of each Democratic and Republican administrations. It licenses AP’s nonpartisan journalism, identical to 1000’s of reports shops and prospects world wide. It’s fairly frequent for governments to have contracts with information organizations for his or her content material.”
The outlet wouldn’t reveal how a lot it’s incomes in federal authorities contracts.
Individually, Musk’s give attention to the USAID company has threatened some $268 million in congressionally-authorized funding geared toward providing coaching and help to some 6,200 impartial journalists working world wide, together with in war-torn Ukraine, mentioned the group Reporters With out Borders.
Denying the cash “will create a vacuum that performs into the arms of propagandists and authoritarian states,” mentioned Clayton Weimers, government director of Reporters With out Borders’ USA department.
