The White House now has its mobile application. Soberly called The White House App, it is available on iOS and Android, with a simple promise: to offer Americans direct access to administration information, “ without filter “. The application brings together most of the content already broadcast elsewhere: press releases, photos, videos, announcements, and even some live broadcasts. The user can activate notifications so as not to miss any of Donald Trump’s speeches.
App or communication platform?
So far, nothing very surprising. But by navigating the application, you quickly understand that it is not just an information tool. The home page largely highlights the president’s political priorities and his ” accomplishments », with links which refer to existing pages of the official site.
A tab devoted to the cost of living clearly illustrates the American government’s, to say the least, partisan approach: it highlights the drop in the Price of certain everyday products, such as eggs or milk. Very real data… but presented in a very selective way. Other increases, such as those for coffee or beef, are strangely absent. Even more notable, the application does not mention at all the surge in energy prices, although they have been rising sharply in recent months. An oversight, no doubt…
This is undoubtedly where the application shows its limits. The “News” tab offers a selection of articles particularly favorable to the administration, which quickly gives the impression of a very oriented news feed. Some functions go even further. In the “Social” section, a button allows you to send a message to the president. In practice, the application already pre-fills the text with a “ Greatest President Ever! ”, before encouraging the user to subscribe to promotional messages. It’s difficult to see a real space for exchange, well, apart from with the fans.
Another point that raises questions: the possibility of directly transmitting information to the federal immigration agency (ICE), via a form accessible from the application. A functionality that goes far beyond the scope of simple institutional communication. Ultimately, the app often acts as a simple hub that redirects to external web pages. Even live broadcasts don’t always seem to be available in real time, despite promises.
With this application, the White House clearly wants to centralize its communication and control its message from end to end. The idea of a direct channel is not absurd in itself. But given the selection of information, the very political emphasis and the functionalities that are questionable to say the least, the “no filter” above all resembles a well-adjusted filter.
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