The White House wants everyday people to help it address media bias. The Trump administration recently launched the Media Bias Portal to call out stories it has deemed “fake news.”
Additionally, there is a Media Bias tipline where people can submit articles and news segments they believe are biased or false to help keep the White House Media Bias Portal updated.
“So-called ‘journalists’ have made it impossible to identify every false or misleading story, which is why help from the American people is essential,” the press release said. “That’s why the White House is calling on everyday Americans to support the truth and hold the Fake News accountable.”
“I think that’s great,” Newsbusters contributor Steve Malzberg said. “It is so long overdue. The media is out of control. The media doesn’t want anything except their own narrative to be pushed, and that’s it.”
Malzberg has made a career of calling out media bias on the show Eat the Press and is now a contributor to Newsbusters.
In the White House’s “Offender Hall of Shame,” the website singles out outlets that have a history of exhibiting media bias. As of Dec. 3, the page is flagging the Washington Post, CBS News, CNN, and MSNBC.
Critics are calling the site “media repression” or “state-sponsored censorship,” while some are even making jokes, saying they want to be added to “this honorable list.” Time called the site an “attack on the media.” CNN’s chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, described the list as President Donald Trump’s attempt to “delegitimize the media.”
However, a significant portion of the public already does not view the media as credible. A Gallup report found people have little confidence in the press, with a November poll indicating just 28% have a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in newspapers, television, and radio to report the news accurately and fairly.
Malzberg told the Washington Examiner in an exclusive interview that he can’t watch network newscasts, such as CNN or MSNBC, without seeing media bias and writing about it.
“If you ask the hosts on CNN, or probably MSNBC as well, they’ll say they’re journalists,” Malzberg said. “I did a piece for Newsbusters on this past Sunday’s Meet the Press. Kristen Welker interviewed Kristi Noem, asking her seven questions and conducting seven follow-ups, which pressed her on her answers. Then she went to Tim Walz a little later, gave him five questions, and not one follow-up. In every answer, all he did was bash Trump. She sat there and let him talk and moved on to the next question. To me, that was a perfect example, in your face, of what these people often do, and it’s not journalism.”
Many social media sites and news outlets, such as Newsbusters, have gained popularity by highlighting alleged media bias. The Media Lies X account (@KamalaHQLies) gained popularity during the presidential campaign season, fact-checking the then-Vice President Kamala Harris’s rapid response team’s account, @KamalaHQ. Now the Trump administration is following suit with its own media fact-checking mission.
While critics are worried this is an attack on the free press, Malzberg praised the move as another example of Trump’s media savvy and his influence on social media.
“He was media savvy before there was social media,” Malzberg said. “What he does now on social media informs people, educates people, and upsets the left. I think it’s only right that it be under Donald Trump’s administration that this website goes up.”
WHITE HOUSE UNVEILS ‘MEDIA BIAS’ WEBSITE TO EXPOSE ‘FAKE NEWS’
Trump has often attacked the press. Media Research Center shows the president received only 8% positive coverage during his first four months in office, while 92% has been negative.
Emily Hallas contributed to this report.