One year into Trump’s second term: increasingly repressive US president on track to join ranks of world’s worst press freedom predators

President Trump's hostilitytowards the media predates his return to the White House in 2025. For the past 10 years, he has labeled journalists and media outlets he disagrees with as "the enemy of the people" and "fake news." His attacks coincide with a broader decline in the news media's public esteem: according to Gallup, only 28% of Americanshave a "great deal" or "fair amount" of trust in the media. In his second term in office, though, Trump has matched his history of violent rhetoric with a series of concrete actions that have severely damaged freedom of the press in the United States and around the world. In the past twelve months, he has censored government data, dismantled America's public broadcasters, weaponized independent government agencies to punish media that criticize his actions, halted aid funding for media freedom internationally, sued disfavored outlets, applied pressure to install cronies to lead others, and more

These actions echo the anti-press measures of the ruthless dictators in the "political" category of the 2025 Press Freedom Predators List, such as President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and Russian President Vladimir Putin. RSF is concerned that Trump's increasingly authoritarian tactics could eventually descend to similarly alarming levels. The Press Freedom Predators List exposes systemic attempts to silence the free press by highlighting actors who wield an outsized, harmful influence on press freedom in five categories: political, security, legal, economic and social. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr already made the 2025 list in the "legal" category, while Trump-aligned tech mogul Elon Musk was featured in the "economic" category.

January: the explosive start to Trump's second term

January 7- In an early example of a company prematurely complying with Trump's threats, Meta guts its fact-checking program. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and several other Big Tech executives attend Trump's inauguration soon thereafter.

January 20- Trump issues an executive order "ending federal censorship," effectively eliminating government monitoring of misinformation and disinformation.

January 22- FCC Chairman Brendan Carr reinstates previously dismissed licensing complaints against three major US television broadcasters, ABC, CBS, and NBC, for their 2024 election coverage, but declines to reinstate a similar complaint against Trump-friendly cable outlet Fox News.

January 29- Carr launches a full investigation into public media networks PBSand NPR, complementing political efforts to cut their federal funding.

January 24- Trump freezes almost all foreign aid, dismantling the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and cutting more than $268 million allocated by Congress to support media freedom worldwide. Independent news outlets around the world are thrown into chaos.

February: sanctions and censorship

February 3- The Trump administration takes down thousands of US government pages covering information ranging from vaccines to climate change.

February 6- Trump issues sanctions against International Criminal Court officials in retaliation for their investigation into war crimes committed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including attacks against hundreds of journalists.

February 8- Trump demands a $20 billion settlement from CBSover the network's editing of an interview with his election opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris.

February 11- The White House bars Associated Pressreporters from covering White House events in retaliation for their refusal to adopt Trump's preferred name for the Gulf of Mexico.

February 21- The Trump administration lays off workers responsible for handling FOIA requests for information, creating barriers for reporters' access to vital data.

February 25- The White House announces major changes to the White House press pool and declares it will be choosing who is allowed to attend press briefings.

March: US public broadcasters gutted

March 14- Trump issues a decree dismantling the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees the allocation of funds to US public broadcasters Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the Middle East Broadcast Networks (MBN), Radio and Television Marti, and Radio Free Asia (RFA). RSF soon files a lawsuit to save VOA.

March 14- Trump baselessly accuses the news media of "illegal behavior" in a speech widely seen as encouraging the Department of Justice to target Trump's perceived enemies in the media.

March 15- The Trump administration places all Voice of America (VOA)personnel on administrative leave, stopping virtually all news production.

April: more cuts to public media

April 13- Trump begins to punish law firms taking pro bono work he doesn't agree with, including the protection of journalists.

April 15- The Trump administration announces that it plans to cut funding for NPR and PBS

April 25- The Justice Department rescinds a policy that prevented reporters' phone records from being searched.

May: Pentagon access limited

May 13- All wire service reporters are barred from Air Force One during Trump's trip to the Middle East.

May 15- Over 500 VOA employees receive termination notices, despite a court order injunction won by RSF and co-plaintiffs including VOAjournalists and their unions.

May 24- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth limits access for credentialed press within the Pentagon, hindering vital reporting on the country's defense headquarters.

June: police violence against reporters

June 3- USAGM senior advisor Kari Lake lays out plans to cut more than 900 employees from the USAGM workforce.

June 8- Trump sends the National Guard to Los Angeles following protests over immigration raids.

June 14- Journalist Mario Guevara is detained while reporting on immigration raids in Atlanta, Georgia. Though the charges against him are dropped and he is ordered released, local police transfer him to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which begins deportation proceedings against him, despite his legal work status.

July: Trump critic taken off air

July 11- Judge issues a temporary injunction against the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) for using excessive force. Since June 6, at least 70 attacks against journalists have been reported.

July 18- "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" is not renewed after the late night host criticizes the settlement between CBS' parent company Paramount and President Trump, casting a pall over the network's political independence.

July 19- Trump sues the Wall Street Journalfor its report on his ties to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

August: restrictions for foreign journalists

August 8- The Department of Homeland Security proposes severe restrictions to visas for foreign journalists in the US.

August 26- Trump-appointed ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack tells Lebanese reporters to "act civilized" and accuses them of being "animalistic" when they ask him questions.

September: crackdown fueled by death of Charlie Kirk

September 17- In another dangerous precedent for censorship, ABC pulls late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel off the air after pressure from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr over Kimmel's comments on Republican politicians' reaction to Charlie Kirk's death.

September 19- The Department of Defense requires reporters to sign an unconstitutional oath pledging to only publish information "authorized for public release," prompting the vast majority of the Pentagon press pool to walk out en masse.

September 28- Reporter Asal Rezaeihas a pepper ball shot through her car window outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois. ICE agents also pointed their guns at journalists, and several other reporters were hit by pepper balls in the following days.

September 29- YouTube, one of the largest sources of news for Americans, agrees to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit with Trump after his social media accounts were suspended following the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

September 30- An ICE agent assaults two journalists outside an immigration court in New York City. One of them, L. Vural Elibofrom Turkish outlet Anadolu, is hospitalized.

October: journalist deported after months behind bars

October 3- Mario Guevara is deported to El Salvador after more than 100 days in ICE custody.

October 17- Trump refiles a defamation lawsuit against the New York Timesfor its reporting on the 2024 election.

October 18- LAPD officers attack journalists at No Kings Protest in direct violation of an injunction issued in July.

October 28- Reporters are barred from covering an immigration hearing in Maryland. Journalists' ability to access immigration proceedings are hindered due to a government shutdown.

October 31- The Trump administration restricts media access in the West Wing of the White House, barring reporters from a second-floor area known as "Upper Press," traditionally open to reporters and White House communications staff.

November: new government website created to smear media outlets

November 10- Trump threatens to sue the BBC over its editing of footage from the insurrection instigated by pro-Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.

November 17- The State Department announces new restrictions and press pass rules for journalists attempting to enter the Harry S. Truman building.

November 18- Trump dismisses the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and defends Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman.

November 18- Trump shouts "Quiet, piggy!" at Bloomberg journalist Catherine Lucey, one of several personal attacks he lobs at multiple women reporters throughout November and into the early days of December.

November 28- The Trump administration launches a "Hall of Shame" webpage targeting various media outlets and encourages citizens to submit complaints to a White House-run tip line targeting journalists.

December: a court defied

December 2- Trump announces he will close overseas VOA offices, contradicting a judge's return-to-work order from April.

December 10- Trump inserts himself into the potential merger of Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and Netflix, pressuring for the sale of news channel CNN.

December 20- CBSEditor-in-Chief Bari Weiss pulls a story about deportation from the program "60 Minutes," sparking backlash over the politicization of the network.