Media News Daily: Top Stories for 08/11/2025

This page hosts daily news stories about the media, social media, and the journalism industry. Get the latest Hirings and Firings, Media Transactions, Controversies, and more.

Trump Accused of Suppressing Unfavorable Data

President Donald Trump is facing criticism for allegedly discarding facts and figures that undermine his narrative of a flawless presidency. Following a weak jobs report, the most concerning of his term, Trump fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, accusing the agency of manipulating numbers to make him look bad. While touting high approval ratings and legislative success, independent polls show him underwater since March with 46% approval, and over half of Americans opposing his signature bill. Observers note that Trump’s hyperbolic claims, such as stopping six wars and cutting drug prices by 1,500%, often stretch or contradict available evidence. (Read More — Axios Rating)

Truth Social’s New AI Search Tool Challenges Trump’s Claims

A new AI-powered search tool on Trump’s Truth Social platform has produced answers contradicting the president on tariffs, the 2020 election, Jan. 6, and other topics. The “Truth Search AI,” developed in partnership with Perplexity, is trained on selected sources but has still delivered politically inconvenient answers, such as affirming that tariffs are a tax on Americans and that violent crime in D.C. has declined. Trump, who recently signed an executive order against “woke AI,” has promoted the need for “neutral” generative AI, but the incident highlights the challenge of controlling chatbot outputs to match ideological preferences. (Read More — Washington Post Rating)

Five Al Jazeera Journalists Killed in Israeli Airstrike on Gaza

Israel killed five Al Jazeera journalists, including Anas al-Sharif, in what press freedom advocates are calling a targeted attack on tented housing in Gaza City. The IDF alleged al-Sharif was a Hamas operative, citing recovered documents, while the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the strike, saying Israel has a pattern of labeling journalists as militants without credible proof. Since October 2023, at least 178 Palestinian journalists have been killed by Israeli forces, according to CPJ. Media leaders and rights groups have renewed calls to lift Israel’s ban on foreign reporting from Gaza, labeling the blackout an obstruction of scrutiny and accountability. (Read More — Press Gazette Rating)