OP-ED: NABJ is politicizing its Black journalists by platforming Trump at the ‘Journalism Over Disinformation’ convention in Chicago
The last four years of my career as a disinformation researcher and journalist—working diligently to help newsrooms, community organizations and the public avoid targeted disinformation campaigns and media manipulation—have been consistently undermined by media and political powers.
Monday marked a significant turning point in this challenge.
Shortly after 9 p.m. ET on Monday, an email and a post on X threw the Black media world into a tumult. The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) announced that Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump “will participate in a conversation” at their annual convention in Chicago.
Rachel Scott, the senior congressional correspondent for ABC News, alongside Harris Faulkner, anchor of The Faulkner Focus and co-host of “Outnumbered” on FOX News, and Kadia Goba, politics reporter at Semafor, will moderate the discussion.
The reaction was immediate and heated. Some journalists criticized NABJ leadership for giving Trump a platform to spread misinformation. Others praised the decision, echoing NABJ’s statement that presented this as an opportunity for journalists to address concerns from the Black community about the economy, housing, health care, and education.
On Tuesday, April Ryan, White House Correspondent for The Grio, revealed NABJ’s questionable decision to reject Vice President Kamala Harris’s virtual attendance. Karen Attiah, one of the co-chairs for the Chicago event, resigned, citing lack of consultation for this interview, among her reasons. The confusion and anger were compounded by abrasive responses from NABJ leadership to members’ criticisms.
As a researcher, I believe this indicates a misunderstanding of the politicized narrative power at play. The failure to recognize how this benefits a candidate with a history of demeaning Black journalists and Black interests is incomprehensible.
This is especially so as the situation unfolds against the backdrop of Vice President Harris closing the gap with Trump in the polls and her considerable fundraising amongst culturally diverse supporters. As Erin Overbey, archive editor for the New Yorker, noted on X, it’s clear who stands to benefit the most from this event, and it’s not the Black journalists or the communities they serve.
In our highly politicized information environment, was the potential damage to the credibility of attending journalists considered?
Two weeks ago, Republican National Convention attendees demanded mass deportations, repeating false claims about undocumented people. Doesn’t NABJ realize that Black immigrants in our community are also implicated in these widespread disinformation narratives? Can local journalists report back to their audiences what Trump said without amplifying disinfo?
Project 2025 calls for the end of the Department of Education and career government jobs, among other alarming items. This policy reform playbook has dangerous implications for the Black community. Doesn’t NABJ understand that many government jobs are held by Black individuals, and dismantling the Department of Education would eliminate the Office of Civil Rights, which enforces civil rights protections in public schools? Can NABJ members expect substantive responses from a candidate who can now downplay his role in this authoritarian agenda?
If Trump claims, “I’ve done more for Black people than any other president since Abraham Lincoln,” we should demand specifics: “How? In what way? What data do you have to support this? What testimony have you heard?”
What can this conversation achieve that hasn’t already been attempted by previous reporters in one-on-one interviews or press gaggles?
NABJ has failed to uphold its own goals for this convention, which is themed “Winds of Change: Journalism over Disinformation.” Narrative power and control should not be dismissed or relinquished. Allowing a presidential candidate to amplify “alternative facts” to a community without authentic access or paths to accountability is an affront to journalism.
By platforming Trump, the NABJ has allowed the politicization of the Black public in what should be a safe space. The former president has shown no genuine interest in understanding the Black lived experience, leaving the door open for NABJ members to be regarded as tools for political gain in a future campaign event.
As I posted on LinkedIn, “It’s one thing to hold a press conference for a former president or candidate; it’s another to give a pathological liar with authoritarian ambitions a platform without real journalistic substance. This isn’t about democracy or journalism: it’s about political points and headlines, and it’s disappointing.”
Disinformation is not just a tech issue. It’s political, social, economic, and scientific. It disproportionately affects the vulnerable and marginalized, driving wedges of distrust and false perceptions between communities that should unite toward an equitable future. A healthy press is essential to uplift reality and for democracy to succeed.
But trust is waning as power consolidates among the self-interested, the power-hungry, and the amoral. It’s on the Fourth Estate to speak truth to power, but we also have a responsibility to minimize harm. This “interview” does neither.
Diara J. Townes is an engagement journalist, a disinformation researcher, and an adjunct at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.
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