Relations between the Trump White House and the media have further broken down, as conservative operatives allied with the administration have launched a campaign against hundreds of working journalists whose work has been critical of the president.
The operatives' strategy threatens to hinder important and impactful journalism by surfacing posts unrelated to reporters' and editors' reporting on the government.
The conservative operatives, including a friend of and consultant to Donald Trump Jr. who also has worked with former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon, Arthur Schwartz, have combed years' worth of social media posts by staffers at news organizations including The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN.
The Times reported on Monday: "The group has already released information about journalists at CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times — three outlets that have aggressively investigated Mr. Trump — in response to reporting or commentary that the White House’s allies consider unfair to Mr. Trump and his team or harmful to his re-election prospects."
Furthermore, according to the Times: "The Trump campaign said it was unaware of, and not involved in, the effort, but suggested that it served a worthy purpose. 'We know nothing about this, but it’s clear that the media has a lot of work to do to clean up its own house,' said Tim Murtaugh, the campaign’s communications director."
A link to the full story is at the bottom of the page.
In a separate letter to the Times staff, Publisher A.G. Sulzberger wrote: "The political operatives behind this campaign will argue that they are 'reporting' on news organizations in the same way that news organizations report on elected officials and other public figures. They are not. They are using insinuation and exaggeration to manipulate the facts for political gain."
An excerpt of Sulzberger's letter, titled, "A Campaign Targeting Our Staff" is below:
Dear Colleagues,
We published an article today revealing a coordinated campaign by President Trump’s allies to attack hundreds of journalists in retaliation for coverage of the administration. This unprecedented campaign appears designed to harass and embarrass anyone affiliated with independent news organizations that have asked tough questions and brought uncomfortable truths to light.
The New York Times, which has distinguished itself with fearless and fair coverage of the president, is one of the main targets of this assault. Unable to challenge the accuracy of our reporting, political operatives have been scouring social media and other sources to find any possibly embarrassing information on anyone associated with The Times, no matter their rank, role or actual influence on our journalism. Their goal is to silence critics and undermine the public’s faith in independent journalism.
This represents an escalation of an ongoing campaign against the free press. For years the president has used terms like “fake news” and “enemy of the people” to demonize journalists and journalism. Now, the political operatives behind this campaign will argue that they are “reporting” on news organizations in the same way that news organizations report on elected officials and other public figures. They are not. They are using insinuation and exaggeration to manipulate the facts for political gain.
Kenneth P. Vogel and Jeremy W. Peters news story on the matter in the Times opens:
A loose network of conservative operatives allied with the White House is pursuing what they say will be an aggressive operation to discredit news organizations deemed hostile to President Trump by publicizing damaging information about journalists.
It is the latest step in a long-running effort by Mr. Trump and his allies to undercut the influence of legitimate news reporting. Four people familiar with the operation described how it works, asserting that it has compiled dossiers of potentially embarrassing social media posts and other public statements by hundreds of people who work at some of the country’s most prominent news organizations.
The group has already released information about journalists at CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times — three outlets that have aggressively investigated Mr. Trump — in response to reporting or commentary that the White House’s allies consider unfair to Mr. Trump and his team or harmful to his re-election prospects.
Operatives have closely examined more than a decade’s worth of public posts and statements by journalists, the people familiar with the operation said. Only a fraction of what the network claims to have uncovered has been made public, the people said, with more to be disclosed as the 2020 election heats up. The research is said to extend to members of journalists’ families who are active in politics, as well as liberal activists and other political opponents of the president.