'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.

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".

Journalist Glenn Greenwald described the interview as part of an "instant media rehabilitation" of Laura Loomer, following her support for Ukraine. He compared it to what he said was the media's changing portrayal of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after she backed Kyiv, and questioned whether Loomer's apparent reversal was linked to reports of Russia supplying Iran with intelligence and weapons, and Ukraine-Iran tensions.

Hasan Piker, a leftist political influencer, argued that mainstream media would "rehabilitate" someone who made what he called "an opportune pivot" on Ukraine, writing: "I guess you can be an unhinged fascist Islamophobe who's working closely with the Trump admin... MSM will rehabilitate you without a second thought."

Both the AP and Loomer were accused on X of supporting Israel's military campaign in Gaza by Iranian academic Seyed Mohammad Marandi. X user Zei Squirrel similarly argued that the interview reflected a broader pattern across western media of portraying Loomer favourably, pointing to a BBC video about her as another example.

X user Nahia Sanzo Ruiz de Azua argued that the interview portrayed Laura Loomer as a "totally normal person" despite what she described as her anti-Muslim views, suggesting her support for Ukraine had overshadowed criticism of her past rhetoric. Similarly, X user Arturo Dominguez wrote: "Normalizing racists is never ok."

The controversy soon spread beyond the AP interview itself, evolving into a broader debate over how mainstream media should cover polarising political figures whose public positions shift on major geopolitical issues.