Published : 13 Sep 2026, 04:06 AM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:50 AM
The US Justice Department has sent FBI agents to journalists' homes with subpoenas and, in one case, a warrant to seize electronic devices.
The New York Times reports that the Pentagon has fired the editor and publisher of Stars and Stripes, while journalists who refused to accept new restrictions have faced restrictions on their access.
Nearly 20 months into Donald Trump's second term, his long-running feud with the media has expanded into what press freedom advocates describe as an unprecedented campaign to curb critical speech.
NYT says regulators have increased pressure on media companies, funding for public broadcasters has been cut, and Trump has pursued lawsuits against major news organisations.
The White House has also taken control of the press pool that follows the president and decides which outlets gain access.
The administration says it is using “every tool available” to ensure accurate reporting and hold those who knowingly spread false information accountable.
Free speech advocates, however, say the measures are designed to punish and intimidate critics.
Reporters Without Borders says press freedom in the US has suffered a “substantial diminishment”, with the country now ranked 64th out of 180 nations in its global index, according to the NYT.
The decline follows a broader escalation in Trump's second term, the news outlet says, as his administration deploys federal agencies alongside personal lawsuits against journalists, media companies, comedians, and other critics.
Trump and his allies argue that the measures are a response to years of biased coverage and excessive government pressure on conservative voices.
Conservative media watchdogs have welcomed regulatory action against what they describe as a system tilted towards liberal news organisations, reports the NYT.
But courts have repeatedly pushed back. Judges have blocked or criticised government investigations and restrictions, often citing First Amendment protections.
Legal victories, however, can come only after expensive and lengthy battles that media organisations say have already damaged their finances and editorial independence.
The US has a long history of government efforts to restrict speech, but First Amendment lawyers say Trump's current approach is broader in scope and faster in execution, the NYT reports.
Trump's combative approach to the press predates his presidency. As a businessman and television personality, he regularly threatened defamation suits against critics and once acknowledged that litigation could be used simply to inflict costs on opponents.
In his first term, Trump repeatedly branded critical reporting as “fake news”. In his second, critics say that approach has been woven into the machinery of government, with loyalists leading agencies that now investigate or regulate media companies and their allies.
The Associated Press was barred from parts of the White House and Air Force One after refusing to adopt Trump's preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico.
The White House later expanded access for other outlets, while making clear its intention to exercise greater control over the national information environment, according to the NYT.
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) pressure has been particularly visible at ABC. Trump previously sued the Disney-owned network, which settled a case over comments by anchor George Stephanopoulos for $15 million.
The administration later opened inquiries into ABC's diversity policies and other programming. After Trump and the first lady called for the dismissal of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over one of his jokes, the FCC also moved up its review of licences held by ABC stations.
ABC has challenged the actions in court, calling them “deeply un-American” and accusing the FCC of mounting a retaliatory campaign that has already affected its programming and editorial decisions, reports NYT.
Pressure has also intensified on individual journalists. The FBI searched the home of a Washington Post reporter in January and seized devices during an investigation into classified information.
A federal judge later sharply criticised the government and temporarily barred officials from reviewing the material, warning against effectively putting “the government's fox in charge of The Washington Post's henhouse”.
Trevor Timm of the Freedom of the Press Foundation told the NYT that government efforts to subpoena journalists and restrict reporting had reached their highest level since the organisation began tracking such incidents in 2017.
The administration insists it is restoring accountability and correcting what conservatives see as years of institutional bias.
Its critics see something far more consequential – a systematic effort to use the power of government to make opponents pay for speech the president dislikes.
