Republican Donald Trump said he will no longer issue press credentials to the Washington Post, stopping the publication from gaining access to press areas at his presidential campaign events.
"Based on the incredibly inaccurate coverage and reporting of the record setting Trump campaign, we are hereby revoking the press credentials of the phony and dishonest Washington Post," Trump wrote on Facebook.
It is unusual for a presidential campaign to refuse to issue credentials to news organisations. Credentials are needed for reporters, photographers and other staff to gain access to press seating, travel with the campaign and attend media-only events, like press conferences.
"Donald Trump's decision to revoke The Washington Post's press credentials is nothing less than a repudiation of the role of a free and independent press," the newspaper's editor Marty Baron said in a statement.
"When coverage doesn't correspond to what the candidate wants it to be, then a news organisation is banished. The Post will continue to cover Donald Trump as it has all along - honourably, honestly, accurately, energetically, and unflinchingly. We're proud of our coverage, and we're going to keep at it."
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A source close to the campaign said the ban could be temporary and pointed out that Trump has already barred other new organisations, including Politico, from obtaining press credentials and then reversed course.
Ben Smith, executive editor of Buzzfeed, responded that his news organisation, which targets millennials, is also banned from covering official Trump events.
The Huffington Post posted on Twitter that its reporters are also barred.
Trump expressed displeasure over a piece that appeared on the Washington Post's website earlier on Monday.
"I am no fan of President Obama, but to show you how dishonest the phony Washington Post is, they wrote, 'Donald Trump suggests President Obama was involved with Orlando shooting' as their headline. Sad!" Trump wrote on Facebook.
The article's headline was changed to "Donald Trump seems to connect President Obama to Orlando shooting" within an hour after it was published.
The Washington Post, based in the US capital and one of the nation's largest newspapers, has assigned a team of reporters to produce a book about Trump that is scheduled to be released later this year.
