Trump and his allies use familiar tactic to help Iran war messaging: Attacking the press

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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump and his allies are attacking news organisations over their coverage of the Iran war, a conflict the administration says is going well for the United States but is unpopular with the public and has plunged the Middle East into chaos.

While Mr Trump has for years disparaged news coverage he deems unfavourable, his recent comments mark an escalation of threats against the news media.

Some press freedom advocates worry about a chilling effect on journalism during wartime, and point to freedoms of speech and the press enshrined in the Constitution.

Only one in four Americans approves of the February strikes by the US and Israel on Iran, according to a March 1 Reuters/Ipsos poll.

About half – including one in four Republicans – believe Mr Trump is too willing to use military force. At least 13 US service members have died in the war.

Criticism of reporting on the war ramped up on March 13 when Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at a news conference singled out CNN, calling a source-based report “patently ridiculous” for saying the administration had underestimated risks to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Mr Hegseth said the sooner CNN’s new owner David Ellison takes over the network, the better.

Paramount Skydance chief executive Ellison, whose company is acquiring CNN parent Warner Bros Discovery, is the son of Oracle co-founder and Trump ally Larry Ellison.

The White House followed up with an e-mail accusing CNN of “lying” to undermine the military operation’s “crushing success”.

CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement to Reuters: “We stand by our journalism.”

‘Fake news media’

US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr on March 14 posted on social media platform X that broadcasters who air “fake news” now have a chance to “correct course before their licence renewals come up”.

His remarks were accompanied by a screenshot of Mr Trump’s Truth Social post earlier in the day claiming that “lowlife ‘papers’ and media actually want us to lose the war”.

The FCC has not revoked a broadcast TV station licence in more than 40 years, and any attempts to do so by the Trump administration because of reporting would likely be met with lawsuits grounded in the First Amendment, which protects the freedom of the press.

In a post on March 15 on Truth Social, Mr Trump accused unspecified “fake news media” of working with Iran to spread AI-generated images of a burning US aircraft carrier and said they should be charged with treason.

Iranian state media had falsely claimed the Iranian military struck the carrier. But the assertion was not widely reported by Western outlets, several of which instead published accounts debunking the videos showing the ship on fire as fake.

Mr Trump’s reference to treason – a charge that carries a maximum penalty of death under US law – took his threats against the media to a new level.

Mr Trump has long labelled the press “fake news” and “the enemy of the American people”. He has personally attacked individual reporters with insults such as “piggy” and “sleazebag”.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC that mainstream media reporting of the war reflected “a dislike for President Trump”.

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said in a statement: “President Trump is right. Many in the media are working overtime to discredit President Trump, his administration and the United States military while carrying water for a regime that has killed Americans for nearly 50 years. This is a complete disgrace.”

Trump has long criticised media

Mr Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said in a statement that the President’s recent rhetoric was an intensification of a “long-running effort to bring news organisations into closer alignment with his own political and ideological agenda”.

“President Trump is free to criticise news coverage he thinks is inaccurate or unfair, but the First Amendment gives news organisations the right to decide for themselves what to report, and how to report it,” Mr Jaffer said. “This is constitutional bedrock, if anything is.”

Ms Jeanette Hoffman, a Republican consultant, said the administration has had some success in exerting influence over media outlets, pointing as an example to Paramount’s decision to pay US$16 million (S$20.5 million) to settle a lawsuit filed by Mr Trump claiming that CBS News deceptively edited an interview with his 2024 presidential rival, former vice-president Kamala Harris.

“A lot of these companies are vulnerable to government threats when mergers and pending deals are on the line with the FCC – as in the case of CNN – so you may see some rethink their coverage and reporting strategies,” Ms Hoffman said.

Mr Jason Roe, a Republican political strategist, said that while he does not necessarily agree with the President’s approach, he sees some merit in Mr Trump’s argument that the media has downplayed US military successes in the war.

Mr Roe, who has been critical of Mr Trump at times, said that if the war is resolved relatively quickly and viewed ultimately as successful, Mr Trump’s latest comments bashing the press will likely be seen as “one more blip in the rhetorical excesses of Donald Trump” that in the end, probably won’t “have any lasting impact”. REUTERS