What to Know
The White House recently unveiled a concerning and “unhinged” new webpage that tracks and documents reporting that President Donald Trump doesn’t agree with. According to an update shared by the White House on December 1, the “fake news” database “catalogs the avalanche of lies, deliberate distortions, and manufactured hoaxes churned out by activist ‘journalists’ and their failing outlets.” Unsurprisingly, the new webpage has set off alarm bells. And of course, some people have joked that they’ll use Trump’s “media bias” tracker to determine which articles to read — because, to them, if Trump hates it, it’s probably worth reading.
The database claims to counter the “fake news” with “the actual facts.”
The database includes media offenders of the week, a leaderboard, and a “Hall of Shame.” Additionally, the “Repeat Offenders” (according to the Trump admin) are highlighted on the webpage. According to the White House, “These outlets don’t just get it wrong – they do it over and over again.” As of December 2, the Washington Post has the most “offenses,” with CBS News and MSNBC (now MS NOW) close behind.
According to the White House, the database was created to ensure that people don’t trust “anonymously ‘sourced’ fan fiction” or “partisan smear.” But many Trump critics perceive it differently, especially given that Trump has recently attacked several reporters he didn’t agree with. “By ‘biased’ they mean anything that doesn’t conform to their narrative,” one person wrote on Reddit.
Another person added, “Whenever an article reports the truth and hasn’t spun it to make Trump a brilliant hero, it will be deemed biased ‘fake’ news.”
Karoline Leavitt has defended the creation of this database.
Though many people are obviously concerned about the government deciding which news is “fake,” Trump’s press secretary acted like the Trump admin needed to create this database because “the standard for journalism unfortunately has dropped to such a historic low in this country.”
On X, Leavitt wrote, “The Trump @WhiteHouse is holding the Fake News accountable like never before” when announcing the new database. In response, someone called the media tracker an “attack on free press.”
The Trump @WhiteHouse is holding the Fake News accountable like never before.
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) November 28, 2025
VISIT ➡️ https://t.co/9HDwjCK9dw pic.twitter.com/fuFYCKRIKP
A second critic accused Trump of “throwing a tantrum” over fact-checking and reporting that he doesn’t like. For many, it functions as more evidence that “the behavior of this administration is unacceptable.”
But Leavitt also defended the database when questioned about it. Explaining the “fake news” tracker, she said, “I think it goes to our original promise on day one to hold the media accountable because, unfortunately — and we deal with this all day, every day around here — there are so many fake stories that are unfortunately written, that have inaccurate characterizations of meetings that took place.”
