The White House has launched a new section on its official government website that catalogues news outlets and reporters the administration accuses of biased or false reporting, marking a notable expansion of President Donald Trump’s engagement with the media landscape.

The initiative, titled “Media Offender of the Week,” includes a searchable database of news organisations and individual articles the White House says misrepresent facts, accompanied by brief rebuttals and categorizations such as “bias,” “omission of context” or “left-wing lunacy.” The page also features an “Offender Hall of Shame” and invites visitors to sign up for email updates on newly flagged entries.

The portal’s rollout comes amid ongoing tensions between the administration and several major media outlets over coverage of the president’s statements and policy positions.

In its initial list of offenders, the White House has singled out outlets including The Boston Globe, CBS News, The Independent, CNN, MSNBC and The Washington Post — as well as individual journalists — for stories that the administration says mischaracterised events or attributed positions to the president that he did not make.

The White House promotes the tracker as a tool to “combat fake news” and “hold the media accountable,” asserting that it provides a service to readers seeking what officials describe as factual reporting.

Supporters of the initiative frame it as an extension of the administration’s broader media strategy, which has included embracing non-traditional and digital platforms to communicate directly with the public and bypass legacy news gatekeepers.

This approach, often described by allies as modernising White House communication, aims to engage audiences who consume news through diverse online channels and independent content creators.

At the same time, critics caution that an official government site publicly naming and critiquing media coverage risks blurring the line between factual correction and intimidation of the press, which plays a constitutional role in holding government to account.

The tension between the White House and elements of the press corps has been prominent throughout Trump’s tenure, with prior episodes including high-profile personal remarks by the president directed at journalists and legal actions involving major networks.

The launch of the Media Offenders portal represents a new chapter in this ongoing dynamic, as the administration continues to leverage digital tools and narrative framing to shape public discourse and media engagement.