Five of the largest American television networks — FOX News Media, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and NBC News — have decided to suspend joint coverage of events involving US President Donald Trump. The decision was made on Monday, September 22, 2026, against the backdrop of a growing conflict between the White House and a number of media organizations. In a joint statement, the networks emphasized that "the public must receive accurate and independent information about the work of the government," adding: "No administration should restrict the operations of a news organization simply because it disagrees with its reporting."

The TV Pool Mechanism and the Cause of the Conflict

The White House television pool operates on a rotation basis: participants take turns covering the president's activities and then share the footage with other newsrooms. According to the schedule, CNN was due to be the pool representative on Monday. It was precisely this fact that triggered the collective decision: the five networks agreed to suspend joint coverage to prevent a situation in which access to the president would be provided exclusively through a newsroom whose accreditation had been revoked.

Timeline of Escalation: From Ban to Collective Action

On September 18, 2026, Donald Trump banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from working in the White House. The journalists from the three outlets had their accreditations revoked and their access to the complex restricted. According to the White House, the reason was the spread of "fake news." In response, the three media organizations announced their intention to take the matter to court, asserting that the administration's decision violates their rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution. By September 21–22, the conflict had escalated into a collective response from the entire television pool.

The Networks' Position and Legal Prospects

In their joint statement, FOX News Media, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and NBC News placed the emphasis on the principle of journalistic independence. The networks do not use the word "boycott" in their official documents, preferring the phrasing "suspension of joint coverage." Nevertheless, a number of international and Ukrainian media outlets (RBC UA, Tengrinews, Censor.net, Zerkalo) characterize the incident precisely as a boycott. Legally, the situation remains unresolved: the courts to which CNN, MS NOW, and Politico have appealed have not yet issued rulings, and the suspension of the pool's work may have precedential consequences for the functioning of the presidential press office as a whole.

Context: Pressure on Media Ahead of the UN Address

The networks' collective step coincided in time with preparations for Donald Trump's address at the session of the UN General Assembly. According to Zerkalo, the boycott was declared "on the eve of the UN address — in solidarity" with the outlets whose access had been restricted. This gives the event additional international resonance: at the moment when the US president was preparing to take the UN podium, the bulk of the American television pool had effectively ceased to provide visual coverage of his activities. Experts note that such a collective action by the pool is an extremely rare phenomenon in American journalism and may set a precedent for future conflicts between the executive branch and the press.

Contradictory Data

A discrepancy exists in the terminology and the nature of the event. The official statements of the five networks use the phrasing "suspension of joint coverage," emphasizing the temporary and procedural nature of the step. At the same time, the overwhelming majority of media sources — both American and international (RBC UA, Tengrinews, Censor.net, Zerkalo) — describe the incident as a "boycott." In addition, the primary materials refer to the name "MS NOW," yet in a number of publications this outlet is not mentioned at all, which may indicate an inaccuracy in the original source or that the accreditation was revoked for an additional, lesser-known outlet. The dates also require clarification: the access ban was announced on September 18, whereas the pool's collective decision was made on September 21–22, and in some publications these events are sometimes merged into a single time frame.