- Axios has decided to refer to the body of water as the “Gulf of America,” following a Trump administration executive order. Meanwhile, The Associated Press continues using the term “Gulf of Mexico,” which has caused tensions with the White House.
- The AP’s refusal to follow the name change led to limited access to White House events. It also escalated tensions over accusations of political bias.
- Media watchdog AllSides has rated the AP with a left-leaning political bias in recent years. AllSides continues to recognize Straight Arrow News for its center, unbiased coverage.
Full Story
Axios has decided to refer to the body of water along the southern U.S. coastline as the “Gulf of America.” It follows an executive order issued by the Trump administration that renamed it from the Gulf of Mexico.
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In a post on X, Axios stated its priority is providing fact-based reporting. Axios clarified that it would use the term “Gulf of America (renamed by the U.S. from the Gulf of Mexico)” in its coverage, given that its primary audience is in the U.S.
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AP faces pushback from the White House
Some media outlets, including The Associated Press (AP), continue to refer to the body of water by its original name. It has led to tensions with the White House as a result. In response, the White House has limited the AP’s access to certain events.
“The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes The Associated Press’ commitment to misinformation. While their right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting is protected by the First Amendment, it does not ensure their privilege of unfettered access to limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich
The Associated Press has defended its decision to maintain the name “Gulf of Mexico.” They argue that as a global news agency, it must use recognizable names for geographic locations. Its full explanation was outlined in a statement regarding the naming controversy. The AP also emphasized that news organizations should be free to make editorial decisions without government interference.
In a letter to the White House chief of staff, AP Executive Editor Julie Pace condemned the actions as First Amendment violations.
“The actions taken by the White House were plainly intended to punish the AP for the content of its speech. This is viewpoint discrimination based on a news organization’s editorial choices and a clear violation of the First Amendment.”
AP Executive Editor Julie Pace
The White House confirmed the AP lost access to certain events for refusing to adopt the “Gulf of America” name. While AP photographers still retain credentials, the news agency has restricted access to the Oval Office and Air Force One. Other media outlets gained those privileges.
Axios suggests a broader media battle
The news outlet reported that the White House’s decision to limit the AP’s access may be part of a larger ongoing battle between the Trump administration and mainstream media. Axios reporter Marc Caputo cited a White House official who stated that the issue was about more than just the Gulf of America name. The official said it was also the AP’s supposed use of language to promote a partisan agenda.
The AP rejects claims of bias
In response to the White House’s criticism, a spokesperson for the AP rejected any accusations of bias.
Lauren Easton, vice president of corporate communications, told Axios that AP “is a global, fact-based, nonpartisan news organization with thousands of customers around the world who span the political spectrum. If AP journalism wasn’t factual and nonpartisan, this wouldn’t be the case.”
The AP emphasized its commitment to impartial reporting. However, some ratings from some media watchdogs show a political bias from the outlet.
Media watchdog ratings on the AP’s bias
According to AllSides, a media watchdog group that tracks bias in the media, the AP has shifted from a centrist rating between 2016 and 2021 to being considered left-leaning in 2022 and 2023. In 2024, AllSides rated AP as having a left bias.
AllSides wrote, “The Associated Press has historically been considered the “gold standard” of objective journalism. It operates a wire service, meaning local and national news organizations nationwide use AP’s content to fill gaps in their coverage. That means AP news content has an extremely wide impact and reach.
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“As such, AllSides does particularly extensive analysis of AP. When AP displays political bias, or fails to portray political events, legislation, and perspectives in a balanced and even-handed way, the impact is broad and far-reaching. A media outlet that is relied upon by outlets all over the country deserves a high level of scrutiny when it comes to political bias.”
Straight Arrow News rated down the center
Straight Arrow News, a news outlet rated as centrist by AllSides, offers unbiased reporting and prides itself on providing objective, fact-based coverage.
To learn more about our mission, click here.
Tags: AllSides, Associated Press, Axios, Donald Trump, Executive Order, Gulf of Mexico, Media Bias, White House
[Karah Rucker]
AXIOS WILL NOW REFER TO THE BODY OF WATER ALONG THE SOUTHERN U.S. COASTLINE AS THE ‘GULF OF AMERICA’ –
FOLLOWING GUIDANCE FROM A TRUMP ADMINISTRATION EXECUTIVE ORDER – RENAMING THE GULF OF MEXICO TO GULF OF AMERICA.
SOME MEDIA OUTLETS ARE STILL REFERRING TO THE BODY OF WATER AS GULF OF MEXICO – AND ITS LED TO REPERCUSSIONS FROM THE WHITE HOUSE –
WITH THE PRESS SECRETARY LIMITING THE ASSOCIATED PRESS’ ACCESS TO CERTAIN MEDIA
IN A POST ON X –
AXIOS SAYS Our top priority is to provide readers with clinical, fact-based reporting.Our standard is to use ‘Gulf of America (renamed by U.S. from Gulf of Mexico)’ in our reporting because our audience is mostly U.S.-based compared to other publishers with international audiences.
THE POST THEN GOES ON TO DEFEND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS’ DECISION –
SAYING “At the same time, the government should never dictate how any news organization makes editorial decisions. The AP and all news organizations should be free to report as they see fit. This is a bedrock of a free press and durable democracy.”
THE AP RELEASED THIS STATEMENT IN REGARDS TO KEEPING ITS USAGE OF GULF OF MEXICO.
The Associated Press will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.
AP REPORTERS WERE BARRED FROM MULTIPLE WHITE HOUSE EVENTS LAST WEEK OVER THE ISSUE. AP EXECUTIVE EDITOR JULIE PACE CALLED THE ACTIONS “VIEWPOINT DISCRIMINATION” AND A “FIRST AMENDMENT VIOLATION.”
THE WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMED THE AP LOST ITS PRIVILEGES OVER “IGNORING THE LAWFUL GEOGRAPHIC NAME CHANGE OF THE GULF OF AMERICA” –
AND SAID WHILE AP PHOTOGRAPHERS WILL RETAIN THEIR WHITE HOUSE CREDENTIALS – ITS PRESS PRIVILEGES TO THE OVAL OFFICE AND AIR FORCE ONE WOULD GO TO OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS.
AXIOS PUBLISHED A STORY MONDAY SUGGESTING THERE’S MORE TO THE WHITE HOUSE’S DECISION TO LIMIT THE AP’S ACCESS –
SAYING IT’S PART OF A BROADER BATTLE BETWEEN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND MAINSTREAM MEDIA.
AXIOS REPORTER MARC CAPUTO SAYS THE SAME WHITE HOUSE TOLD HIM “THIS ISN’T JUST ABOUT THE GULF OF AMERICA. This is about AP weaponizing language through their stylebook to push a partisan worldview in contrast with the traditional and deeply held beliefs of many Americans and many people around the world.”
A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REFUTED THE WHITE HOUSE’S STATEMENT – SAYING THE AP REJECTS ANY ACCUSATION OF BIAS.
BUT SOME MEDIA WATCHDOG ORGANIZATIONS – HAVE RATED THE AP’S CONTENT AS HAVING A LEFT POLITICAL BIAS.
ALLSIDES – A GROUP THAT RATES MEDIA BIASES –
SHOWS THE AP LOST ITS NEUTRAL RATING YEARS AGO –
GOING FROM A “CENTRIST” NEWS OUTLET BETWEEN 2016 AND 2021 –
TO A “LEFT-LEAN” IN THEIR COVERAGE IN 2022 AND 2023 –
THEN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2024 – IT WAS RATED AS HAVING A “POLITICAL LEFT BIAS”.
ALLSIDES WRITING “The Associated Press has historically been considered the “gold standard” of objective journalism. It operates a wire service, meaning local and national news organizations around the country use AP’s content to fill gaps in their coverage. That means AP news content has extremely wide impact and reach.
As such, AllSides does particularly extensive analysis of AP. When AP displays political bias, or fails to portray political events, legislation, and perspectives in a balanced and even-handed way, the impact is broad and far-reaching. A media outlet that is relied upon by outlets all over the country deserves a high level of scrutiny when it comes to political bias.”
ALLSIDES – THAT SAME MEDIA WATCHDOG GROUP HAS RATED STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS AS A NEWS OUTLET DOWN THE CENTER.
IT’S A RARE CATEGORY TO BE IN NOWADAYS AND ITS SOMETHING WE TAKE PRIDE IN AS A NEWS ORGANIZATION.
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OR YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND US ONLINE – AT SAN DOT COM
Media Landscape
See how news outlets across the political spectrum are covering this story. Learn more
Left 40%
Center 20%
Right 40%
Bias Summary
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Bias Distribution
21 other sources covering this story
Total News Sources
21
Leaning Left
4
Center
2
Leaning Right
4
Last Updated
2 months ago
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