The White House has come under scrutiny for what appears to be an edited version of their Monday press briefing video on YouTube, where journalist Simon Ateba from Today News Africa was omitted. Notably absent from the edited video was the exchange between Ateba and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, where Jean-Pierre seemingly threatened to end the press briefing after Ateba posed a series of questions.
Upon reviewing the White House’s uploaded video, it becomes evident that the interaction between Ateba and Jean-Pierre was deliberately removed. The video abruptly transitions from White House national security spokesman John Kirby to a shot of Jean-Pierre speaking at the podium, starting at the 1:02:00-minute mark. However, alternative recordings of the press briefing, such as the NBC News stream, reveal that Jean-Pierre engaged in a brief, heated exchange with Ateba. This interaction can be observed in the NBC News stream around the 44-minute mark, immediately after Kirby leaves the podium.
As Jean-Pierre took the stage, Ateba accused her of refusing to call on him for several months. Minutes earlier, Jean-Pierre had said the administration is “committed to freedom of the press.”
“You’ve been discriminating against me for the past nine months,” Ateba alleged.
“Stop. How is she discriminating?” one reporter could be heard asking.
“She called on you, she gave you a few questions,” Ateba responded. “Please, allow me to do my job and ask my question.”
Jean-Pierre attempted to call on another reporter but Ateba continued, prompting Jean-Pierre to threaten to end the briefing.
“If this continues, we’re gonna end the press briefing. If this continues – you’re being incredibly rude. You’re being incredibly rude. You’re talking over your colleagues.”
