Columbia Journalism Review

08/28/2025

During his first term, President Trump constantly accused mainstream outlets of liberal bias. But he also strategically used Twitter to issue provocative statements that would be quoted in the mainstream press. It was a tactic to “launder the mis- and disinformation under the credibility of the news link,” says Joshua Scacco, a professor of communications at the University of South Florida.

Trump’s strategies since have allowed him even more direct control over how he gets his messages to audiences. In 2022 Trump created his own social media platform, Truth Social. Now his administration is disseminating news-like content from government websites. The direct messaging allows Trump to control the narrative and deflect criticism. This is especially true when right-wing sources that his supporters follow are focused on topics, like the Epstein files, that are unfavorable to Trump.

Take, for example, the White House Wire, the Trump administration’s news aggregation website, which clearly mimics the Drudge Report, a site founded by his former supporter Matt Drudge. “Drudge has turned on Trump and is no longer posting favorable stories,” Scacco says. “To redirect conservatives’ attention, they’re trying to create this alternative Drudge page.”

Our analysis of the links on White House Wire over the past three months shows how the administration is prioritizing its own media infrastructure over independent news sources. The most frequent source cited is the White House YouTube channel, followed by whitehouse.gov. News outlets favorable to Trump, like Fox News and Breitbart, are also frequently cited. After Trump’s feud with Elon Musk in May, there was a sudden drop-off in links to X.

By creating his own sites, Trump strengthens his visibility and prominence in the media ecosystem and ensures that he doesn’t have to rely on platforms like X and the Drudge Report. He also skirts accountability from the independent press.

Presidents of every era, from Theodore Roosevelt to Joe Biden, have sought to avoid the press and speak directly to the people, noted Marshall and Scacco. But Trump has launched an open attack on the press that started with untruthful rhetoric and has escalated to numerous lawsuits and the banning of news organizations like the Associated Press and, more recently, the Wall Street Journal from the press pool in retaliation for unfavorable coverage. These are unique threats to press freedom.