FACT CHECK: Has Trump Banned The Atlantic From The White House Briefing Room?
A post shared on Facebook claims President Donald Trump has purportedly banned The Atlantic from the White House Briefing Room.
Screenshot captured via Facebook
Verdict: False
The claim is false and originally stems from a March 26 post shared by “America’s Last Line of Defense,” which is a satirical Facebook page. In addition, a White House spokesperson denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
The Atlantic released the full Signal thread in which the Trump administration accidentally included a journalist in discussions about intended military strikes, according to CNBC. Aside from the name of one Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, the texts are unredacted, CNBC reported, citing The Atlantic.
The Facebook post claims Trump has purportedly banned The Atlantic from the White House Briefing Room. “Trump banned ‘The Atlantic’ from the White House Briefing Room: ‘They’re crooked fake news,'” the post, which does not provide a source to support its claim, reads.
The claim is false and originally stems from a March 26 post shared by “America’s Last Line of Defense,” which is a satirical Facebook page. The Facebook page describes itself as “the flagship of the ALLOD network of trollery and propaganda for cash” before reiterating “nothing on this page is real.” The original post has received over 1,000 likes as of writing.
The post also includes a link to a recent article from “The Dunning-Kruger Times” that repeats the claim. “The Dunning-Kruger Times” is a subsidiary of “America’s Last Line of Defense.” (RELATED: No, Pete Hegseth Did Not Remove Colin Powell’s Name From List Of Notable Americans Buried At Arlington)
Likewise, Trump does not appear to have publicly commented on the claim. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has not addressed the claim. The claim is not referenced on The Atlantic’s website or its verified social media accounts. Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim, either.
In addition, a White House spokesperson denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
“[This claim is] not true,” the spokesperson said.
