TRUMP VOWS LAWSUITS AGAINST MEDIA OVER ‘FAKE’ STORIES USING ANONYMOUS SOURCES

Wed 26 February 2025:

US President Donald Trump accused media outlets on Wednesday of using “anonymous” or “off the record” sources to publish “made up” stories, and threatened to sue those responsible.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that the stories are “defamatory fiction” and vowed to take legal action.

“At some point, I am going to sue some of these dishonest authors and book publishers, or even media in general,” Trump wrote.

The president suggested the “anonymous sources” that the stories refer to do not exist, and said they are a natural result of him having the “Best Opening Month of any President in history.”

Stating that someone should pay a “big price” for the news, Trump said that a new law could be prepared to combat the situation.

The post follows a Financial Times report on Tuesday claiming that Trump adviser Peter Navarro proposed expelling Canada from the Five Eyes intelligence network — Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK and the US.

Navarro dismissed the story as “nonsense” and “crazy.”

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Trump’s relationship with the press has been rocky from the start, but his second term has dialed up the tension. A key flashpoint: his executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.” When the Associated Press (AP) refused to adopt the term, sticking to “Gulf of Mexico” for its global audience,

Trump retaliated. Starting February 2025, he banned AP reporters from Oval Office events and Air Force One, calling press access a privilege he could revoke for “disobedience.” The AP hit back, suing Trump officials and decrying it as a First Amendment violation—government punishing free press for editorial choices.

Trump’s history fuels the fire: he’s long bashed “fake news,” banned outlets like CNN in his first term, and now seems intent on bending media to his will. Critics, including lawmakers and newsrooms, call it censorship; supporters say he’s fighting a biased press.

The AP ban’s in court now, with a judge calling it discriminatory but not yet reversing it. It’s a power play—whether a petty grudge or a bid to control narratives, it tests press freedom’s limits under Trump 2.0.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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