{
  "title": "Ladder: credential control, in North America",
  "canonical_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/credential_control?continent=north-america",
  "filters": {
    "continent": "north-america"
  },
  "counts_caveat": "The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.",
  "tactic": {
    "slug": "credential_control",
    "name": "Credential control",
    "definition": "A government decides who counts as a journalist through passes, accreditation or licences issued to individual reporters. Officials may refuse, suspend or revoke these credentials, or attach new conditions to them. Because many press areas admit only accredited reporters, control of credentials works as control of access.",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/credential_control"
  },
  "focal_case": "US",
  "count": 6,
  "stages": [
    {
      "stage": "restrict",
      "name": "Restrict",
      "definition": "Limiting access or credentials for particular reporters or outlets: bans from briefings or buildings, pool changes, credential revocations, accreditation refusals.",
      "rungs": [
        {
          "slug": "2018-white-house-revokes-acosta-press-pass",
          "title": "United States: White House suspension of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's hard pass, November 2018",
          "occurred_on": "2018-11-07",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "restrict",
          "focal_case": true,
          "country": "US",
          "country_name": "United States",
          "continent": "north-america",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 64,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "donald-trump",
          "leader_name": "Donald Trump",
          "what_was_done": "On November 7, 2018, the White House suspended the hard pass of CNN's White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, after what Gulf News called a \"heated confrontation\" between Acosta and the president of the United States, Donald Trump, at a news conference after the country's midterm elections.",
          "outcome": "reversed",
          "outcome_on": "2018-11-19",
          "outcome_note": "A temporary restraining order of 2018-11-16 required reinstatement; the White House restored the pass on 2018-11-19 and CNN dropped the suit.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 8,
          "tactic_primary": "credential_control",
          "tactics": [
            "access_ban",
            "credential_control"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-white-house-revokes-acosta-press-pass"
        },
        {
          "slug": "2018-us-cnn-acosta-credential-revoked",
          "title": "White House revokes CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's press credential after a news conference exchange with President Trump",
          "occurred_on": "2018-11-07",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "restrict",
          "focal_case": true,
          "country": "US",
          "country_name": "United States",
          "continent": "north-america",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 64,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "donald-trump",
          "leader_name": "Donald Trump",
          "what_was_done": "After CNN's Jim Acosta questioned President Trump at a news conference and briefly kept hold of a microphone as an intern reached for it, the White House suspended his hard pass, the standing credential letting reporters enter the grounds; a federal judge ordered it restored a week later.",
          "outcome": "reversed",
          "outcome_on": "2018-11-19",
          "outcome_note": "A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on November 16, 2018, and the White House permanently restored Acosta's credential three days later rather than continue the lawsuit.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 2,
          "tactic_primary": "credential_control",
          "tactics": [
            "access_ban",
            "credential_control"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-us-cnn-acosta-credential-revoked"
        },
        {
          "slug": "2025-whca-loses-control-of-press-pool",
          "title": "United States: White House takes over selection of the presidential press pool, February 2025",
          "occurred_on": "2025-02-25",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "restrict",
          "focal_case": true,
          "country": "US",
          "country_name": "United States",
          "continent": "north-america",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 64,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "donald-trump",
          "leader_name": "Donald Trump",
          "what_was_done": "On February 25, 2025, the White House announced that it would decide which journalists join the press pool, the small rotating group of reporters who cover the president of the United States in spaces such as the Oval Office and Air Force One and share what they gather with other outlets.",
          "outcome": "sustained",
          "outcome_on": "2026-09-22",
          "outcome_note": "The White House selects the pool as of 2026-09-22, according to the Associated Press (s104).",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 3,
          "tactic_primary": "access_ban",
          "tactics": [
            "access_ban",
            "credential_control"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-whca-loses-control-of-press-pool"
        },
        {
          "slug": "2025-pentagon-issues-new-press-credentialing-rules",
          "title": "United States: Department of Defense press credential rules requiring approval before release of information, September 2025",
          "occurred_on": "2025-09-19",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "restrict",
          "focal_case": true,
          "country": "US",
          "country_name": "United States",
          "continent": "north-america",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 64,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "donald-trump",
          "leader_name": "Donald Trump",
          "what_was_done": "On September 19, 2025, the United States Department of Defense, the federal department that provides the country's military forces, issued new credential rules for reporters at the Pentagon, its headquarters building, under the Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.",
          "outcome": "ongoing",
          "outcome_on": "2026-04-09",
          "outcome_note": "Judge Paul Friedman ruled against the credential-revocation provisions on 2026-03-20 and against the revised policy on 2026-04-09; the Department of Defense appealed.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 5,
          "tactic_primary": "credential_control",
          "tactics": [
            "access_ban",
            "credential_control",
            "prior_restraint"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-pentagon-issues-new-press-credentialing-rules"
        },
        {
          "slug": "2025-pentagon-press-corps-forfeits-badges",
          "title": "United States: News organizations turn in their Pentagon press credentials, October 2025",
          "occurred_on": "2025-10-15",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "restrict",
          "focal_case": true,
          "country": "US",
          "country_name": "United States",
          "continent": "north-america",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 64,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "donald-trump",
          "leader_name": "Donald Trump",
          "what_was_done": "Beginning on October 15, 2025, reporters from at least 30 news organizations vacated the press workspace at the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, rather than sign the department's new credential pledge, with a deadline of October 17 to remove their belongings.",
          "outcome": "ongoing",
          "outcome_on": "2026-04-09",
          "outcome_note": "Credentials were ordered restored for seven New York Times journalists on 2026-03-20; the ruling against the revised policy on 2026-04-09 is on appeal. Most other outlets remain outside the building.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 2,
          "tactic_primary": "credential_control",
          "tactics": [
            "access_ban",
            "credential_control"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2025-pentagon-press-corps-forfeits-badges"
        },
        {
          "slug": "2026-white-house-bans-cnn-msnow-politico",
          "title": "CNN, MS NOW, Politico hard passes deactivated, 2026",
          "occurred_on": "2026-09-18",
          "occurred_on_precision": "day",
          "stage": "restrict",
          "focal_case": true,
          "country": "US",
          "country_name": "United States",
          "continent": "north-america",
          "rsf": {
            "index": "RSF World Press Freedom Index",
            "year": 2026,
            "rank": 64,
            "of": 180,
            "label": "RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180",
            "source_url": "https://rsf.org/en/index"
          },
          "leader_slug": "donald-trump",
          "leader_name": "Donald Trump",
          "what_was_done": "On September 18, 2026, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced that CNN, MS NOW and Politico would be banned from the White House.",
          "outcome": "ongoing",
          "outcome_on": "2026-09-21",
          "outcome_note": "Cable News Network, Inc. v. Trump (D.D.C. No. 1:26-cv-03287) was filed on 2026-09-21. On 2026-09-24 the court granted a temporary restraining order, in effect for 14 days, requiring the White House to reinstate the outlets' hard passes; the case is pending. On 2026-10-08 the court extended the order through 2026-10-13. On 2026-10-13 the court granted a preliminary injunction that keeps the outlets' access in place until the lawsuit is resolved. On 2026-10-14 the defendants filed a notice of appeal to the D.C. Circuit.",
          "ladder_note": null,
          "sources_count": 33,
          "tactic_primary": "access_ban",
          "tactics": [
            "access_ban",
            "credential_control"
          ],
          "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-white-house-bans-cnn-msnow-politico"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "downloads": {
    "csv": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/credential_control?continent=north-america&format=csv",
    "json": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/credential_control.json?continent=north-america",
    "md": "https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/credential_control.md?continent=north-america"
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  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  }
}