Trump and the MAGA fascists are hell-bent on silencing all opposition to their regime, by any means they deem necessary. 

As a crucial part of this, that regime is taking outrageous and unprecedented steps to whip the major news media outlets into line. The aim is to turn these media into a combination of simpering right-wing lapdogs who idolize Trump, along with formerly “respected” newspeople (owners, editors, journalists) who have been taught that “if you want to get along you have to go along”—and that means you do NOT challenge the regime, its horrific crimes, or the torrent of lies with which they cover them up. 

This is happening right before our eyes—and up to this point there has been precious little serious opposition to it from the news media or anyone else. This has high stakes for the fight for the truth, and the fight against fascism. And this is so even though the mainstream media represent and serve the interests of this system as a whole—and just like the rulers of this system, they are sharply divided. In his social media message Revolution #98, the revolutionary leader Bob Avakian asked:

What is the difference between fascist ruling class liars and “mainstream” ruling class liars?

"The answer," he continued, “is that the fascists lie comprehensively and systematically, while 'mainstream' ruling class representatives lie 'situationally' and 'instrumentally.'" And later in that message, he explains:

Unlike the fascists, for “mainstream” ruling class representatives (like the politicians of the Democratic Party and those who run major media like CNN and the New York Times) reality does matter—BUT when reality gets in the way of the interests of this system of capitalism-imperialism, they will distort reality and lie as grossly as the fascists.

But what the fascists need goes beyond the propagation of lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, lies about the U.S.'s role in the world, lies about police terror inside the U.S. The fascists need for there to be “no such thing” as the “truth,” other than whatever they say it is at any given time. And this is a big part of the clash between the two sections of the ruling class, and for their vendetta against mainstream news media.

Targeting the Associated Press 

Just look at what happened with the Associated Press (AP)—one of the largest news services in the world. On February 12, the Trump administration indefinitely banned the AP from the Oval Office and from Air Force One (Trump’s plane), thus largely depriving them of the opportunity to ask Trump direct questions, hindering their ability to cover the regime and setting an example.

And WHY? According to Trump's deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich, AP showed a “commitment to misinformation” by continuing to call the Gulf of Mexico… “the Gulf of Mexico,” even after Trump claimed to have renamed it “the Gulf of America.”

This is ridiculous! The Gulf of Mexico is not a U.S. territory—it is an international body of water that was named over 400 years ago. So the U.S. has no right or ability to “rename” it, and so far, no other country in the world recognizes this name change. But in Trump world, whatever—whatever—Der Trumpff says is “true,” and failure to treat it as true shows a “commitment to misinformation” that will be punished.

So this ban on AP is a dangerous warning to the media as a whole. And it should have provoked immediate defiance from everyone claiming to be a journalist. For example, the rest of the White House Press Corps should've reacted strongly—by boycotting press conferences, by only asking questions about the ban on AP, or in other ways. Instead, they’ve been shamefully hustling their way from one White House press event to another, apparently just grateful to be allowed in.

The journalist and writer Mark Jacob wrote, "The news media needed an 'I am Spartacus' moment. Instead, the message was: 'I’m definitely not Spartacus. No way. That’s him over there.'"

This is referring to the climax of the film Spartacus where, instead of turning over the leader of the slave rebellion to save their own skin, the slaves stood together. Watch the scene: 

Handpicking the White House Press Corps… and Adding More Fascists to the Mix

Having met no serious resistance to their attacks on AP and others, the fascists have already taken another outrageous step. Press secretary and fascist parrot Karoline Leavitt announced that from now on, the White House will decide which journalists will be allowed to come to press events, overruling the decades-old system whereby an organization of White House correspondents made this selection.

This allows the fascists the ability to bar any journalist for not being properly subservient to Trump—while they're inviting in fascists, neo-Nazis, conspiracy theorist podcasters and other right-wing spreaders of lies, and treating them as legitimate journalists. In fact, if you watched the ambush/beatdown of Ukrainian president Zelensky last Friday, you could hear the voice of “journalist” Brian Glenn joining in, harassing Zelensky for supposedly “disrespecting” Trump by not wearing a suit! (See "Three Big Lies—and Important Truths—from the Break Between Trump and Ukrainian Leader Volodymyr Zelensky"). And who is Glenn? A correspondent for far-right outlet Real America’s Voice. Now that’s the kind of “journalist” MAGA can get with!

And again, these new “arrangements” have basically been accepted by the media, at least so far.

Washington Post Silences Itself

The Washington Post has historically been one of the two most influential newspapers in the U.S., and has been a vehicle for more liberal sections of the ruling class to contend with more right-wing sections. For instance, in the 1970s, it was the Washington Post that exposed Richard Nixon’s connection to the “Watergate break-in,” which led to him being impeached and forced to resign. And its editorial policy has opposed Trump ever since he declared his candidacy in 2015.

The Post is owned by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who previously opposed Trump but has since capitulated in a number of ways. For the first time in decades, the Washington Post's opinion page did not support a presidential candidate—even though an endorsement of Kamala Harris for president had already been drafted. And when Trump won, Bezos donated a million dollars to his Inauguration as a show of fealty and submission. 

That was already shocking; thousands of Post readers cancelled their subscriptions, and a number of prominent journalists quit. But worse was to come. On February 26, Bezos ordered that the Post’s “Opinion” section would now advocate “personal liberties and free markets.” This is code for unfettered capitalist exploitation and is very similar to the slogan of the pro-Trump Wall Street Journal, “Free markets, free people.” 

Bezos declared, “I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else.” Bezos made clear that no dissent would be tolerated, and that "viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others." This was heralded by Elon Musk and other fascists, including Charlie Kirk, the Christian fascist leader of Turning Point USA, who gloated: “Good! The culture is changing rapidly for the better.”

So in a matter of weeks, one of the country’s leading "liberal-moderate" papers swung sharply to the right. Why? Martin Baron, a former Post editor, said “There is no doubt in my mind that he [Bezos] is doing this out of fear of the consequences for his other business interests.” And Baron went on: “He’s basically fearful of Trump. He has decided that, as timid and tepid as the editorials have been, they’ve been too tough on Trump.”

Ridiculous Lawsuits… and Craven Capitulation

Trump and other MAGA fascists have launched a series of lawsuits against media coverage of Trump. He sued ABC News for libel after anchor George Stephanopoulos said on the air that Trump had been found civilly liable for rape in New York. (Trump was found liable for “sexual abuse” in the form of forced vaginal penetration with his finger, which is not considered “rape” under New York law. However, the judge himself described it as meeting the common understanding of “rape.”) 

Legal experts thought that ABC would win the case, but ABC did not go to trial. Instead, they settled out of court, donated $15 million to Trump’s “Presidential Library,” and Stephanopoulos publicly apologized.

In the U.S., for a public figure to be found to have libeled, there has to be proof that whatever was said was said maliciously, and not just mistakenly. In this case, it is clear that Stephanopoulos was genuinely confused and believed that Trump had been found liable for rape, but he was mistaken. 

This is important—while media should strive to be factually accurate, it would obviously have an extremely chilling effect on free speech and press if any honest mistake—or unconventional viewpoint—could subject you to a crippling lawsuit. Although the case didn’t go to trial and hence there is no legal precedent established, ABC’s capitulation on this set of facts can only encourage more lawsuits like this. 

Along the same lines, Trump is suing CBS News over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Trump claims that one of Harris’s quotes was edited to make her look better! If this went to trial, it seems very clear that CBS would win. But Paramount—parent company of CBS—is seeking an out-of-court settlement. 

While it is impossible to know for certain why these two mega corporations chose to settle cases they were very likely to win, it is hard to imagine that Trump’s open policy of using presidential power to punish his “enemies” doesn’t factor into this in an important way. And, as one attorney commented, “What gets rewarded gets repeated.” Trump has multiple similar lawsuits ongoing, including one against the Des Moines Register in Iowa because it published a poll before the election saying Trump would lose in Iowa, but then he won! (To its credit, the Register is so far not seeking a settlement!)

Do Not Accommodate or Collaborate!

The fascists are aiming for and moving RAPIDLY to drown all criticism and exposure of their lies. They want to make their fascist program and the lies that justify it the only voice people are hearing, day in and day out. The point is to enlist those who can be enlisted in their criminal plans, and to disorient, demoralize and crush those who oppose them. 

As Bob Avakian wrote last week:

What is happening now is that Trump is moving to make this a dictatorship, not of the ruling class as a whole, but of a certain—fascist—section of the ruling class, to the exclusion, and with a determined vendetta against, the other (“bourgeois-democratic”) section of the ruling class. At the same time, this can have tremendously negative consequences for the masses of people—because, to put it in basic terms: If the fascists can do this to people who have been part of the ruling class, think of the implications for what they can do to “ordinary people.”

This must be stopped and opposed in every corner of society—with millions acting, with self-sacrificing courage and collective action aimed at defeating this fascism.