Reporters raise their hands during a press briefing with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at the White House in Washington, D.C., March 10, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci
A White House special assistant prompted mockery and criticism Wednesday when she accused reporters of using "fake outrage" over a recently implemented photography ban.
On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that a ban on photography had been leveled against the White House Press Corps, with sources explaining that this came as a result of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth feeling that some recent photographs made him look bad. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt informed reporters that photos would henceforth be provided by the White House after briefings.
In a post to X after the story was published, Anna Kelly, a deputy press secretary and special assistant to Donald Trump, took aim at Post reporter Scott Nover for a part of the article that stated the White House had declined to comment on the story. Using a photo of an email response to the Post, Kelly claimed that the White House, in fact, responded, saying only, "Didn't the Washington Post just fire all of its White House photographers?"
"Fake news 'reporter' [Scott Nover] said we declined to comment for this story," Kelly posted. "Not true! He just didn’t like my comment because it exposes how little the Washington Post cares about access for photographers. They just fired all of their White House photographers! Fake outrage."
In response to her response, numerous users pointed out that Kelly's response to Nover did not, in fact, comment on the story, making it fair game for the report to say the White House declined to comment. One response summed up Kelly's email as a "non-sequitur."
"I think when a government spokesperson responds to a request for comment with a complete non-sequitur that doesn't even remotely answer the question, that is in fact declining to comment," Aaron Reichilin-Melnick, a senior fellow for the American Immigration Council, wrote in a post to X.
"Whether we have zero photographers or 72 photographers, this story about the Pentagon is still true," Dan Lamothe, a military affairs reporter for the Post, wrote in his own post.
"This is not a denial," Konstantin Toropin, a Pentagon reporter for the Associated Press, posted.
"I'm sure this will tamp down attention to the story about Pete Hegseth's unflattering photos which you can read here," Nick Penzenstadler, an investigative reporter for USA Today, wrote in a post, which he further used to spread the link to Nover's original reporting.
"Not denying the story and falling back on smearing the reporter on Twitter isn't great but not being able to take a screen cap and showing the world your busted screen? Unforgivable. Nick Steele, a communications director for the Everytown gun safety activism group, wrote in a post.
Matthew Zeitlin, a reporter for Heatmap News, also noted that a representative actually "responded to the substance of the story," meaning that their response, which also included a jab at the press, was able to be printed.
I think when a government spokesperson responds to a request for comment with a complete nonsequitor that doesn't even remotely answer the question, that is in fact declining to comment. https://t.co/0jpaMhR9ZM
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) March 11, 2026