In early 2025, the Associated Press (AP) found itself at odds with the Trump administration after refusing to adopt the term “Gulf of America,” a name change enacted via executive order to replace “Gulf of Mexico.”
The AP, citing its global audience and the name’s lack of international recognition, stuck to its editorial style, prompting the White House to bar its reporters from Oval Office events and Air Force One.
The AP cried foul, claiming this was a First Amendment violation and an attack on press freedom, yet their complaints ring hollow.
Conservative and independent media outlets have faced years of targeted censorship and exclusion by governments in China and the EU.
The U.S. Government led the charge on crushing criticism and often without the same level of sustained outrage from mainstream press advocates, highlighting a perceived double standard in the AP’s indignation over losing its privileged access.