How European publishers are approaching Trump 2.0 coverage

Since returning to the White House, Trump puts the media and journalists on constant alert by multiplying speeches, announcements, or publications on his Truth Social platform. Russia’s war in Ukraine, Gaza, customs tariffs, and the end of USAID are the most prominent issues of the last few weeks, which sometimes lead to a flood of information.

“We have provided extensive coverage of its actions, striving to offer counterpoints from diverse voices, verify the truth of statements made, and assess the consequences of decisions taken,” explained David Pontes, director of the Portuguese newspaper Público. “Trump was elected democratically, but his policies pose a risk to democracy in the U.S. and beyond.”

Faced with the influx of news from the United States, newsrooms must constantly sort through what is important to their audience here in Europe. “We pick the topics that are important and could potentially be meaningful for people’s lives. We write, for example, about his trade wars with different countries, as this will have impacts on prices everywhere in the world,” said Oliver Kern, member of the editorial board of the German daily newspaper Neues Deutschland.

“But we will not write anything just to show what character he might have. Purely national decisions that don’t alter the ways of the rest of the world are usually not covered by us on a daily basis.” Kern gave the example of the possible cuts on Medicaid and social security in the U.S, adding that for now it is not covered, but this could change before the U.S. midterms.

Day-to-day

It could be difficult for media outlets to anticipate the next move of President Trump, known for his unpredictability. “We decide what to cover about Trump, balancing every day the impact of his speaking, the priority of different news, and our resources,” said Luca Sofri, founder and director of Il Post, an Italian online daily newspaper. “There is no rule, there is working day by day and evaluating priorities.”

If we look back over the past few weeks, we can largely see that Trump is being covered very extensively all over the planet, almost eclipsing all other topics. Media outlets should therefore make choices. “We haven’t really changed our approach, but of course we know a little bit better which of his comments or actions are meaningful and which are not,” said Kern. “For example, we wrote a lot about his disastrous meeting in the Oval Office with Zelensky, but we didn’t cover his recent marketing stunt for Elon Musk’s Tesla company on the White House grounds at all.”

Público decided to bet on an approach that centres not only on the main political players but also on the businesses, institutions, and individuals affected by Trump policies. That’s a way to ensure a more comprehensive and insightful narrative, according to the newspaper director. “We are not caught up in the relentless stream of American TV and social media, which allows us to maintain perspective and make thoughtful choices in our coverage,” explained Pontes. “Rather than chasing every headline, we focus on the actions of key figures within the administration and its allies, seeking to highlight the real-world consequences of political decisions through concrete examples and compelling stories.”

Focus on fact-checking 

Another challenge of Trump’s return is the disinformation and fake news spread by the President. This was already a very important challenge during his previous term, namely how media outlets relay or do not relay fake news and fact-checked stories.

“We knew that with Trump 2.0, the truth would suffer,” said Pontes. “Fact-checking is already part of our daily routine, and we rely on additional tools to combat misinformation, such as debunking, to counter the flood of distortions coming from the White House and its allies.”

Pontes also underlined that Público published analyses from different experts to provide essential context for the policies being enacted – articles that serve not only to challenge Trump’s narrative but also to offer clear explanations that help people understand what is truly at stake, according to him.

Il Post has been working on fact-checking and contextualisation since their creation. “It’s always our priority, and this is acknowledged by our readers,” said Sofri. “I would not say we follow any editorial line to cover the Trump administration, other than explaining to our readers the facts and what they mean, as we do with the whole of our reporting.”

A boost for audiences?

Trump’s previous term had already triggered an increase in media audiences, often calling it the “Trump bump.” Since his inauguration in January, some media outlets have already revealed a bump in traffic, subscriptions, and viewership. The Canadian newspaper La Presse observed, for example, the highest activity on its mobile app since its launch outside of the COVID period.

Trump’s reelection also prompts record reader donations to The Guardian, which saw a 250% increase in fundraising. There was an especially huge increase on Jan 21st, the day after Trump’s inauguration, as stories about Trump’s executive orders and Elon Musk drove a major uptick in traffic.

It’s difficult to know exactly the consequences on the European market, but, for example, Público has seen an impact. “We’ve noticed a slight increase in traffic, but more importantly, a surge in reader engagement. Articles about the U.S. consistently rank among the most popular,” said Pontes. “With Portugal also experiencing a political crisis, both topics have driven sustained interest, to the point that even weekends – typically a time of slight dips in readership – are performing more like weekdays.”

On the other hand, for Il Post, there is no major difference. “Our audience has been stable in the last month, and our subscription figures have been growing for many months now, but we did not observe an increase in audience and subscription that could be related exactly to Trump’s return,” said Sofri.

Source of the cover photo: Markus Spiske via Flickr

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