The White House has barred the Associated Press (AP) from the Oval Office after the news organisation refused to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order, which mandated referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.”
AP’s Executive Editor, Julie Pace stated it was based on the content of its reporting rather than the nature of the news itself.
“Today we were informed by the White House that if AP did not align its editorial standards with President Donald Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, AP would be barred from accessing an event in the Oval Office. This afternoon AP’s reporter was blocked from attending an executive order signing,” read the statement from Associated Press.
“It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP’s speech not only severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment,” further read the statement. The AP was reportedly informed that its continued adherence to its editorial standards would lead to further restrictions on access to government events.