How Elon Musk and the right are trying to recast reporting as ‘doxxing’

For years, journalists have written about the social media posts of government employees to help reveal the positions, motivations and actions of public officials.

But when a journalist recently trained that same lens on Elon Musk’s new government efficiency program, the billionaire suggested that the reporting might be illegal, joining other powerful figures connected to the Trump administration who have made similar claims in recent weeks.

The offense, they argue, is doxxing: publishing private information about someone with malicious intent. The term refers to a revenge tactic, originally used by hackers, to bully, harass or intimidate people online, and can incite third parties to commit acts of violence.

Musk and others have expanded the definition this month, applying it to journalists and others seeking to hold the government accountable by reporting on public information. One Justice Department official appointed by President Donald Trump stated early last week that he had found evidence of lawbreaking from people who were “targeting” employees of Musk’s government efficiency program.

Although the official did not name names, civil liberty and free speech groups said his comments appeared to refer to several journalists who had recently uncovered new details about Musk’s efforts, including identifying some of the people working for him. Those advocates say that the First Amendment explicitly protects the kind of work reporters do and that government employees are by definition not protected from critical inquiry.

Instead, they say, Musk and others are trying to intimidate and chill the media at a crucial moment.

“The term ‘doxxing’ has become unmoored from its origins to mean that someone posted something on the internet that I would rather not see,” said Will Creeley, legal director for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a free speech group best known as FIRE. “But if living in the U.S. in 2025 means you can expect a criminal investigation for criticizing the government, we’re all in a whole lot of trouble.”

The political right has increasingly ramped up an assault on mainstream journalists in recent weeks. Since his inauguration, Trump has amplified false claims that the government secretly funded news outlets including Politico, calling it “the biggest scandal of them all,” while taking time to name specific journalists and calling for them to be fired.

The Federal Communications Commission also opened an investigation into PBS and NPR and is investigating CBS News’ handling of a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris last fall, which is the subject of a lawsuit filed by Trump. The Trump administration also recently gave space in the Pentagon dedicated to several large media organizations, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, to right-leaning outlets like Breitbart News and One America News Network.

Creeley’s group and almost three dozen other organizations are now asking Ed Martin, the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, who issued the public threats to prosecute those who interfere with Musk’s work, to explain what laws he believes were violated and whom he is investigating. In a letter last week, the organizations said any attempts to charge reporters or media outlets in that context would be unethical and illegal and violate the Constitution.

Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson, said that the administration and DOGE had both been highly transparent.

Fields also said that there had been no internal discussions about arresting members of the press but that “no one is above the law, including members of the media.”

Musk did not respond to an email seeking comment.

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