Latest news with #alternativeMedia
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Maga media mob: meet the new rightwing faces in the White House briefing room
A disgraced ultra-conservative banjo player ousted from his Grammy-winning band; a far-right conspiracy theorist with alleged ties to Russia; a TikTok creator known as 'Maga Malfoy' for his resemblance to the Harry Potter character; and an extremist social media 'influencer' once banned from Twitter for posting a video depicting sexual abuse of a child. These are just some of the 'new media' personalities courted by the White House to take part in a series of alternative briefings championed by Donald Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt. An extraordinary gallery of Trump-promoting characters has paraded through the West Wing in recent days, answering Leavitt's call for 'independent journalists' and 'influencers' to attend her press gatherings. Some of their fawning, softball or otherwise baffling questions have provoked derision and concern, while the topics, predictably, have covered a wide range of propaganda, conspiracy and other extremist talking points. Here are some of the highlights: Winston Marshall He showed up in the West Wing on Tuesday in a sharp black suit to first congratulate 'Madame Leavitt' for inviting him, then try to gauge her position on the 'quarter of a million' Britons he insisted had been penalized in the UK for social media posts or perceived speech infractions. 'Would the Trump administration consider political asylum for British citizens in such a situation?' he asked. Leavitt, amid guffaws in the room, said the question was 'a very good one' and she would 'see if it's something the administration would entertain'. Since quitting Mumford & Sons, the double Grammy winning folk rock band he co-founded, four years ago following his controversial endorsement of a conservative journalist's book, guitarist and banjoist Marshall has found his place in the rightwing ecosystem. The 37-year-old British son of GB News co-owner and hedge fund tycoon Sir Paul Marshall now hosts his own podcast, The Winston Marshall Show, in which he discusses politics with like-minded guests for his 14,000 subscribers. Tim Pool He appeared in the new media seat at a briefing last week, dressed in a black woolly hat and hoodie, to castigate 'legacy media' for promoting what he said were a succession of anti-Trump 'hoaxes', including the story of Kilmar Ábrego García, who was wrongly deported to El Salvador. His question, such as it was, was another attack on the mainstream media: 'I'm wondering if you can comment on their unprofessional behavior as well as elaborate if there's any plans to expand access to new companies?' 'We want to welcome all viewpoints into this room,' Leavitt replied, declining Pool's invitation. The host of several conservative podcasts was linked last year to a US content creation company the justice department said was paid almost $10m by Russian state media operatives to publish videos promoting Moscow's interests and agenda. Link Lauren One of the leading sycophants at Leavitt's alternative briefing, he asked the press secretary: 'You're a very high-profile young mother who seems to juggle and balance it all beautifully. What advice do you have to young parents out there who are starting their careers having kids, building families and trying to find that balance so desperately?' Leavitt had no advice to offer, but was keen to point out that 'there are so many new moms and dads on our senior staff, but also across the entire administration'. Bleached blond, and with a striking resemblance to the Harry Potter character Draco Malfoy, Lauren is a previously unknown musician and content creator who served as a social media adviser to Robert F Kennedy Jr during the new health secretary's failed presidential campaign last year. His recent wild claims include informing his 875,000 TikTok followers that the Biden administration was a 'cesspool of topless trans people on the White House lawn', and was responsible for countless suicides. Dominick McGee His question during his brief appearance at the new media briefing was thus: 'Is there any possibility for names such as Barack Hussein Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton, to ever possibly get investigated for … any of the wrongdoings they might have done?' Leavitt said it was 'refreshing' to hear McGee's question. 'The legacy media would never ask [it],' she said. Under the pseudonym Dom Lucre, election denier McGee was booted briefly from X (then Twitter) in 2023 for posting a video depicting child sexual abuse, but allowed back on at the insistence of the platform's owner, Elon Musk. Since then, the self-styled Black Maga influencer has disseminated numerous conspiracy theories on social media, including amplifying Trump's false claims that the 2020 election he lost was fraudulent, and promoting the QAnon fiction that the so-called deep state was conspiring to usurp the president. Arynne Wexler Her first attempt at 'stirring things up in the realm of political commentary', having been granted the honor of the opening question at Leavitt's alternative briefing, was a racially dubious statement praising the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. 'I can attest to the deportations in Florida, my Uber drivers finally speak English again, so thank you for that,' she enthused. Her subsequent question demanded to know what action would be taken against 'trans men … masquerading as women in girls' sport'. Leavitt replied: 'Obey the law or you will be prosecuted.' Billing herself as 'just a crazy nonlib girl in a crazylib world', Maga newcomer Wexler claims to have grown up 'as one of few conservatives on the outskirts of the very blue New York City'. 'The left doesn't know what to do with me,' she opines in a self-aggrandizing biography that expresses her fixation on 'smashing the status quo and redefining what conservative commentary can be'. Rogan O'Handley With more than 7 million followers across several social media platforms, O'Handley was warmly welcomed by Leavitt to the new media seat during a briefing that included Trump's border enforcer, Tom Homan. He used his opportunity to deliver a lengthy monologue endorsing Trump's policy of deporting scores of migrants without due process, and excoriated judges who had issued orders trying to stop it. 'In Trump's first 99 days, we've seen a coordinated assault on the rule of law by radical judges,' he said. 'These judges are providing more due process to violent MS-13 and Tren de Aragua illegal aliens than they did for American citizens who peacefully protested on January 6.' Would Trump consider suspending the writ of habeas corpus for such migrants? O'Handley wondered. 'The administration is open to all legal and constitutional remedies,' Leavitt said, adding that she 'agreed with the premise' of his question. Better known by his alter ego DC Draino, O'Handley is a former entertainment attorney with a long history as a commentator on the political right. He was among 15 rightwing influencers given early access in February to what the White House said was key new evidence in the case of the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but which many observers said 'fell way short' of the explosive revelations they promised.
News.com.au
08-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Trump's White House creates own media universe
From influencer-only briefings to memes of Donald Trump as the pope and a "Star Wars" Jedi master, the White House is creating its own alternate media reality. Since Trump's return to the US presidency in January, his team has given right-wing "new media" an increasingly prominent place as it steps up its war on the traditional press. But now the White House is going a step further, effectively creating its own government-run media operation to stoke up Trump's loyal base. Last week Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt held three alternative briefings reserved for a hand-picked group of partisan outlets. These "new media" sessions exist in a parallel universe from the traditional White House briefings, and are held in a special auditorium across the road that reporters cannot access freely. "I absolutely agree with the premise of your question -- which I usually don't when I take questions at a podium," Leavitt told right-wing activist Jack Posobiec at a briefing on April 30. Another question came from Dom Lucre, a proponent of the QAnon right-wing conspiracy theory. "Is there any possibility for names such as Barack Hussein Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton to ever just possibly get investigated?" Lucre asked Leavitt. The White House did not respond to requests for comment on its strategy. - 'Echo chamber' - Former reality TV star Trump and his team have had a strong social media game since his first presidency from 2017-2021. Then during his 2024 election campaign he reached out to podcasters and influencers, inspired partly by his 19-year-old son Barron. But the new approach is taking that campaign strategy and putting it at the heart of the US government's communications operation. News outlet Axios underscored the new strategy, saying that now "Trump's White House is the hottest right-wing media outlet." That risked creating an "echo chamber," said Sonia Gipson Rankin, a law professor at the University of New Mexico. Rankin said Trump's unique use of social media, AI images and "direct appeals through partisan influencers" had "created a space of alternate versions of events where governance is not tethered to reality." "In a second term, the concern is that this echo chamber could become even more insulated," she told AFP. Last week also saw the launch of the "White House Wire" -- a website designed to look like the low-tech "Drudge Report" but with links to favorable stories and the administration's social media. "Give a middle finger to the fake news and check out WH Wire!!!!" Trump's son Don Jr said on X with a link. It came as the White House reduces access for several mainstream news wires -- most notably The Associated Press, following a clash over its refusal to call the Gulf of Mexico by Trump's designated name, the "Gulf of America." The White House has also taken control of deciding which outlets are in the "press pool" that covers some presidential events in close quarters like the Oval Office or Air Force One. - Light saber - The White House is meanwhile leaning more and more on provocative memes to fire up Trump's supporters and "own the libs" -- gaining attention by angering his "liberal" and left-wing opponents. Trump caused controversy after his Truth Social account posted an AI-generated image of himself in papal garb on Friday, less than a week after attending the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome. But while Trump insisted that he hadn't posted the meme himself, he also said that his wife Melania thought it was "cute" and rejected any criticism. "They can't take a joke," Trump told reporters on Monday when asked about the pope image. Then on Sunday the White House's official account posted an image of a muscle-bound Trump wielding a light saber to mark "May the Fourth" day -- when "Star Wars" fans celebrate in a riff on the movie's catchphrase "May The Force be with you." "You're not the Rebellion -- you're the Empire," the post said, attacking Trump's left-wing rivals and comparing them to evil imperial forces of Darth Vader and others. There was just one problem, US media said.
