The White House this week debuted its “Rapid Response 47” social media account to provide immediate responses to misinformation from news outlets.
The account is designed to combat "fake news" and gained over 443,000 followers in its first week.
Trump often used the term “fake news” in his first presidential campaign to describe certain media outlets that he believed were pushing false narratives. Trump has continued to target news organizations throughout the years and often uses his own account on the social media platform Truth Social to call them out.
In one example, the new Rapid Response account on X responded to a statement made by Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) who claimed that Trump “froze the hiring of federal employees, including air traffic controllers.” She made her statement following Wednesday evening's midair collision between a commercial jet and a military helicopter.
Trump's White House team has pushed for full transparency and media accessibility to the president. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt in her first news briefing talked about how the White House is adapting to a new media landscape.
“But it’s also not our job to go in there and unduly criticize President Trump,” she said. “I just want to see fair coverage. I think that’s what [the president] wants.”
Trump in his first week in office has held several press conferences and directly addressed the media. The president answered reporters' questions as he signed multiple executive orders and spoke to the media about the deadly aviation crash in Washington.