The White House Put Us on a Watch List

The White House just put us on a watchlist. They’re calling us a “media offender” for reporting on Trump’s corruption and abuse of power. Here’s our official response.

The milestones we’ve celebrated at Headquarters so far have been pretty typical. The first article. First viral post. First follower.

But we’ve added a new (and bizarre) milestone to the list. The White House officially added us to the “Media Offender” list on the White House website.

And honestly? We’re flattered.

Flattered because we know that means that the work we’re doing gets under the leader of the free world’s (very orange) skin. This tells us that our mission to hold MAGA accountable for their chaos, deceit, and corruption is working.

This would be funnier if it weren’t so worryingly revealing about Trump’s actual priorities.

In 2024, Trump ran on issues like the economy. On ending forever wars. On restoring a “dead” country.

But to no one’s surprise, he’s been the same useless, dangerous, incompetent fool he’s always been.

His only legislative “accomplishment” has been that not-so-beautiful bill. 30 million Americans will be kicked off their healthcare and tens of millions of families will lose access to SNAP and WIC programs that reduce child poverty and starvation — all while his billionaire buddies get massive tax breaks.

Your gas prices are up. Your grocery prices are up. Housing is less affordable, college is unaffordable, healthcare is only for the privileged few, and for young people, retirement is as much of a pipe dream as the American Dream itself has become.

If none of this were true, and if this administration was actually as strong as Trump likes to say it is, they wouldn’t need an enemies list. If their “accomplishments” spoke for themselves, there wouldn’t be a need to attack the creators, outlets, and journalists reporting on them.

Only weak governments led by weak, ailing men fear scrutiny.

Headquarters’ mission is to expose this truth. In the wake of Trump’s second election, he forged an unholy alliance with corporations and the uber-wealthy at the expense of everyday Americans.

Since then, media empires like CBS, The Washington Post, and other outlets have seen their editorial staff gutted, management reshuffled, and legacy journalists fired or muzzled. Instead of being the places where truth is brought into the light, these outlets have increasingly become the places where the truth goes to die.

At Trump’s urging, Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show was abruptly canceled despite rave reviews. Jimmy Kimmel Live was temporarily yanked off the air, and his show has faced similar pressure to be terminated. 60 Minutes has hemorrhaged its best reporters and its leadership has taken a sharp rightward lurch, pushing the program to parrot many of Trump’s talking points.

Trump’s FCC chair, Brendan Carr, has regularly threatened to launch investigation and revoke broadcasting licenses from media outlets reporting negatively on the administration, and Trump has leveraged his authority to approve mergers to exact political benefit. Media access has shifted from actual journalists to MAGA-aligned influencers masquerading as “reporters” (as if being able to hold a phone and hit record is the only requirement.)

All of this is to say: Trump targeting us isn’t an isolated event. It’s part of a broader strategy to silence opposition and end American democracy as we know it. Influencers and online creators are just the newest front in Trump’s war on free speech.

Headquarters refuses to give in to the capitulation that has gripped legacy media. For the last five months, we’ve brought you the news the White House wants to keep quiet. We’ve exposed Trump’s corruption, abuses of power, backroom deals, and the very real ways this administration threatens our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Trump publicly placed a target on our back. This latest broadside against the First Amendment is meant to be a warning.

We wear it as a badge of honor.

You see, those in power are always afraid of losing it. In pursuit of keeping their power, they will always reveal what scares them most: the people.

We’re proud to bring to light the ugly truths Trump would rather keep secret to tens of millions of people every week. We’re proud to fight for the America that could and should be. We’re proud of the part we’ve played, and will continue to play, in standing up to the brazen corruption, authoritarianism, and bullshit spewing out of this White House every day.

So, we’re grateful to President Trump for acknowledging our pro-democracy, pro-freedom, and pro-America organization. We pledge to you that we’ll never bow, never bend, and never cease fighting for all of our futures.

See you out there. The fight is only just beginning.