White House shredded for promoting its own news app after Trump’s media ban: ‘State run media’

The White House drew widespread criticism for promoting its official news app days after President Donald Trump barred three news outlets from the White House.

“Get real-time updates and live events streamed DIRECTLY to your phone,” the White House wrote on X on Monday. It pitched the official app as a way to receive “the news that matters most — straight from the Trump Administration.”

“DOWNLOAD NOW,” the caption stated.

The post came three days after Trump banned reporters from CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House, triggering a lawsuit from the outlets. In response to the restrictions, the White House television pool announced on Monday it would suspend coverage of presidential events.

The White House’s Monday post quickly drew a flood of negative replies online, with users comparing the app to media from authoritarian nations.

“You’re making Vladimir Putin proud. State run Media,” political commentator Brian Krassenstein wrote.

“Why would I let your state media track my data?” questioned another user, while a third chimed in: “I'd rather launch my phone into the sun than install a government propaganda app.”

Other critics simply responded with memes, one of which depicted Trump’s face superimposed onto a North Korean state television broadcaster.