Axios announced it will comply with the Trump administration’s decision to rename the “Gulf of Mexico” the “Gulf of America” in its reporting, saying its audience is mostly U.S.-based compared to other media outlets.
“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,” said a statement from Axios released on the social platform X.
“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,” the statement added.
Axios’s announcement comes a day after the White House said it would limit the Associated Press’ access to the Oval Office and Air Force One over its decision not to use “Gulf of America” in its reporting.
“The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America,” White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich wrote in a post Friday on X.
In a statement to The Hill Friday, the AP said, “Freedom of speech is a pillar of American democracy and a core value of the American people.”
“The actions taken to restrict AP’s coverage of presidential events because of how we refer to a geographic location chip away at this important right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution for all Americans,” a spokesperson for the outlet added.
Someone needs to explain to the AP that we are not a “democracy” & have never been one so they don’t need to get their Leftist panties in a wad.