Trump Allies Target Journalists Over Coverage Deemed Hostile to White House

A loose network of conservative operatives allied with the White House is pursuing what they say will be an aggressive operation to discredit news organizations deemed hostile to President Donald Trump by publicizing damaging information about journalists. It is the latest step in a long-running effort by President Trump and his allies to undercut the influence of legitimate news reporting. Four people familiar with the operation described how it works, asserting that it has compiled dossiers of potentially embarrassing social media posts and other public statements by hundreds of people who work at some of the country’s most prominent news organizations. The group has already released information about journalists at CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times — three outlets that have aggressively investigated President Trump — in response to reporting or commentary that the White House’s allies consider unfair to President Trump and his team or harmful to his re-election prospects.