fThe Ederal government’s payments to news outlets such as Politico, the New York Times and subscription and licensed content are on the crosshairs of the Trump administration spending the Trump administration, and on Thursday the president called it “the biggest scandal of all those things.” I’m here.”
This is the latest in a series of skirmishes with the media and a long target for Donald Trump and his supporters. Last week, the Department of Defense kicked NPR, NBC, The Times and Politico out of the pentagonal workspace, with Trump criticising CBS’s 60 minutes for processing an interview with former opponent Kamala Harris last fall I continued. Free Press advocates are also concerned about Trump’s plans for Media Outlet Voice of America, where the charter guarantees editorial freedom.
But this time it’s a little different. By linking federal spending to the media, Trump has put two of his long-standing political targets into one rhetorical package.
On Wednesday, White House press director Karoline Leavitt said the government paid more than $8 million for a Politico subscription, and Elon Musk’s government efficiency team is “working on cancelling these payments.” It quickly pulled out the social media giant vortex and the hunt by online detectives for other evidence of taxpayer spending on the news.
“The US government must stop paying for media subscriptions. Soon,” Trump’s special mission envoy Richard Grenell, posted on X.
Trump complained about paying “fake news media” to create a good story about Democrats on his true social platform. “Did the New York Times receive the money? Who else did it? This could be the biggest scandal for all of them,” he wrote.
And at a national prayer breakfast held at the Capitol on Thursday morning, Trump promoted his efforts to look into media spending. “We’re catching them left and right,” Trump said. “We’re catching them. We’re catching them to the point where they don’t know what the hell is going on. They can’t believe they’re being caught.”
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Governments paying for news content are common
Politico said on Thursday they had not received government subsidies in a statement to readers of CEO Goli Sheikholeslami and editor-in-chief John Harris.
“It’s a deal just like governments buy research, equipment, software and industry reports,” they said. “Some online voices are deliberately spreading falsehood. Let’s be clear: Politico is not financially dependent on government, and there is no hidden agenda. We cover politics and policy. That’s what we do.”
It is not uncommon for federal and state governments to subscribe to major media and remain on important or strategic issues. For example, the US State Department may rely on international news reports for clarity of incidents taking place in countries of interest. Agency experts like the Ministry of Transport follow trade publications on industry trends.
Politico Pro Services helps government and private sector customers track policies, laws and regulations in real time using news, intelligence and a set of data products,” the company said. . We will not explain the number of subscriptions sold or the price.
The New York Times said it won under $2 million last year through government subscriptions. One arrangement gives the Times access to more than a million active military members and their families.
“These officials and other civil servants, like millions of other Americans, are just trying to better understand the world through our independent journalism,” spokesman Charlie Statlander said. said.
Elon Musk’s voice is also in the mix.
Musk is also a frequent critic of the owners of platforms that compete in many ways with mainstream media, complaining that the AP has “stroking millions of dollars with government money for years.” I retweeted one message with the X I said.
“It’s not long,” Musk added. “This is clearly a huge waste of taxpayer money.”
“The US government has long been a client of the AP and has been a client of the AP through both Democrat and Republican administrations, as well as thousands of news outlets and customers around the world,” said Lauren Easton, a spokesman for the AP. licensing nonpartisan journalism in the Associated Press. It is very common for governments to contract with news outlets for content.”
The outlet won’t say how much they earn from federal contracts.
Separately, Musk’s focus on USAID institutions aimed at providing training and support to around 6,200 independent journalists working around the world, including war-torn Ukraine. The organization is threatening about $268 million in funding allowed by Congress, reporters with no borders said.
“We’ve seen you get a lot of money,” said Clayton Weimers, executive director of the US chapter of Reporters Without Borders.
