Bangladesh

Dhaka, September 22, 2026. The Bangladeshi press has taken note of the American media crisis, focusing less on the judicial duel and more on the unprecedented solidarity displayed on Monday by competing newsrooms. CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in a Washington federal court on Monday, citing a violation of their right to freedom of expression and press guaranteed by the First Amendment, after the White House banned their journalists from accessing its premises on Friday. Over the weekend, their press badges were deactivated "without notice or procedure," according to the three media outlets, which are seeking a temporary restraining order; a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. "The government does not decide what the press reports or publishes," they wrote in a joint statement.

The backlash from the industry has gone beyond the CNN case. The five major American broadcasters, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, and NBC, suspended their television pool at the White House on Monday, just as CNN was supposed to cover Trump's trip to the UN General Assembly. "No administration should penalize a media outlet for questioning its articles," they said together. Bryan Boughton, head of Fox News' Washington bureau and president of the pool, specified that "no replacement will be put in place." The New York Times also refused to broadcast official photos of the day in solidarity, as did several agencies, including AFP, which delayed their publications.

A tangible consequence is that Trump's inauguration of the White House helipad on Monday took place without organized television coverage, his remarks being drowned out by the sound of a helicopter on the live feed from the official website. "An example where this backfires a bit against him," commented the conservative channel Newsmax.

Trump justified the measure by writing that his administration was not targeting "the free press" but was waging a "war against FAKE NEWS, which has grown like a cancer," citing a threat to national security without providing evidence. The incident occurs as Chinese President Xi Jinping is being received at the White House the same week, potentially depriving these meetings of pooled television coverage.