National Press Photographers Association Condemns White House for Banning AP Journalists

The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) issued a statement condemning the White House for the indefinite ban it issued to Associated Press (AP) journalists last week.

UPDATE 2/17: While the ban initially did not include photographers, both a reporter and a photojournalist were barred from boarding Air Force One over the weekend.

On Friday, the AP was banned from the White House and Air Force One because it hasn’t changed its stylebook entry for the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. As a global organization, AP recognizes that the United States government changed its naming convention for the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, but other countries in which it operates and reports do not acknowledge this change. As a result, the AP still refers to it as the Gulf of Mexico while also noting President Trump’s decree that it be called the Gulf of America.

“Such actions are unacceptable as both an attempt at prior restraint, and a blatant retaliation and chilling abridgment of the First Amendment rights of the AP and its journalists, who for decades have participated as part of the tight pool covering the president. The Associated Press and its reporting on the White House are relied upon by thousands of news organizations around the world, reaching billions of people,” the NPPA writes.

The NPPA aims directly at the rationale for AP’s ban.

“A baseless claim by a White House spokesperson that, ‘the Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America,’ and that ‘this decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press’ commitment to misinformation,’ is not only false but also misstates the facts. It is the right of an international news organization to follow its longstanding policy to identify geographical places by names that are easily recognizable to all its audiences. The Trump administration’s power over government agencies does not extend to independent news organizations.”

The NPPA says it supports journalists and their right to control their content “without viewpoint-based penalties from the government.” The organization requests that the White House reverse its “unconstitutional stance” by restoring AP journalists’ access.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.