Newz'Whitewashing Laura Loomer': AP interview sparks backlash on social media The Associated Press is facing backlash after publishing an interview with Laura Loomer, the far-right activist and close ally of US President Donald Trump, during her visit to Ukraine. The article quickly drew criticism from journalists, commentators and social media users, many of whom accused the news agency of attempting to "whitewash" one of the US's most controversial figures. Loomer has long been one of the most polarising figures in US conservative politics, having repeatedly drawn condemnation for anti-Muslim rhetoric, racist remarks and conspiracy theories.
Critics argued that the AP's focus on her recent comments about Ukraine risked overshadowing that record and portraying her as a more conventional political figure. The backlash followed Loomer's apparent shift in her public stance on Ukraine after interviewing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on 23 July. She said she had previously believed Ukraine was "full of Nazis", but that her visit had changed her views.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In a post on X three days later, she argued Ukraine had some of Europe's strongest anti-antisemitism laws and said Zelenskyy had told her there were "no Nazis in Ukraine". Criticism spreads online Journalist Mehdi Hasan criticised the AP interview, noting that only three of its 32 paragraphs focused on Laura Loomer's history of anti-Muslim rhetoric and conspiracy theories. He described the profile as "glowing" and "normalising".
32 paragraphs in this glowing, normalizing profile of anti-Muslim bigot & conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer. Only 3 of them are devoted to her anti-Muslim bigotry & conspiracy theorizing.Truly disgusting & depressing. Our mainstream media is broken.https://t.co/20UUcW06TK https://t.co/5iAzbU9c7y— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) July 28, 2026 Journalist Glenn Greenwald descri…
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