The White House refused to let the reporter, whose identity AP has not revealed, enter unless the news agency changed its style of referring to the Gulf, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
White House bans reporter for naming Gulf of Mexico
Google Maps has begun referring to the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. (AP/Google Maps)
An Associated Press reporter was denied entry by the White House to an event in the Oval Office on Tuesday due to the news agency's decision to continue referring to the "Gulf of Mexico," despite President Donald Trump's orders to rename it the "Gulf of America."
"It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism," AP Executive Editor Julie Pace said, adding that limiting access violated the First Amendment of the US Constitution guaranteeing freedom of the press.
In January, Trump signed an executive order directing the Interior Secretary to change the Gulf of Mexico's name to the "Gulf of America."
In its stylebook, AP says that the Gulf has carried the name "Gulf of Mexico" for more than 400 years and, as a global news agency, it will refer to it by its original name while noting the new name Trump has chosen.
This week, both Google and Apple Maps switched to using "Gulf of America"for user in the United States. Google said it had a "longstanding practice" of following the US government's lead on such matters.
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