The White House Correspondents’ Dinner turned into a public relations nightmare Saturday night after a shocking mistake exposed the media’s double standards and apparent carelessness.
According to the Daily Caller, during the prestigious Washington, D.C., event, the dinner’s internal video feed incorrectly identified two black female journalists — causing a tidal wave of mockery and outrage online. When NBC News White House Correspondent Yamiche Alcindor appeared on the internal feed, attendees realized it was a mistake: the cameras were supposed to be highlighting Black Press USA’s Washington Bureau Chief, April Ryan.
“Amazing. At WHCA, they gave a speech to recognize @AprilDRyan, but had the camera on @Yamiche. Absolutely incredible work @whca,” Ruthless Podcast co-host Comfortably Smug posted on X, capturing the rage and disbelief spreading through the crowd.
Even Yamiche Alcindor herself was visibly uncomfortable, mouthing “I’m not April Ryan” as the cameras lingered on her. Multiple social media users slammed the incident as “incredibly embarrassing” and “proof that the media’s virtue-signaling is just for show.”
Adding to the mess, Puck News co-founder Julia Ioffe highlighted the debacle on X, posting: “TFW at the #WHCD2025 when Eugene Daniels calls out April Ryan and the camera cuts to Yamiche Alcindor — twice — and Yamiche is mouthing, ‘I’m not April Ryan.’”
The event’s own president, Eugene Daniels, appeared to realize the disaster unfolding in real time. According to eyewitnesses, Daniels shook his head and mouthed “That’s not her” when he saw the error live while presenting the prestigious Dunnigan-Payne Prize for Lifetime Achievement.
Social media exploded with criticism. One commenter noted, “The cameraman and the director had one job.” Another wrote bluntly, “How very on-brand,” implying that such mistakes are par for the course when it comes to elite media gatherings like the WHCD.
The glaring error turned what was supposed to be a night of celebration into yet another example of how the White House press corps seems more focused on shallow virtue-signaling than on doing basic homework about the journalists they claim to honor.
To make matters even worse, this comes just weeks after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt publicly announced she would not attend the dinner, citing the WHCA’s history of excluding “new and independent media.” Her decision now looks even more prescient in light of the embarrassing spectacle Saturday night.
Though some defenders tried to wave off the blunder as a simple mistake, many Americans aren’t buying it. Critics point out that if conservative media had made such a public error involving two black women, the outrage from the mainstream press would have been deafening and relentless.
The White House Correspondents’ Association has not yet issued a formal apology for the screw-up.
Meanwhile, readers can watch the full trainwreck unfold in the complete video of the event, now circulating widely online.
One thing is clear: after a night meant to boost their image, the White House press elites only managed to embarrass themselves even more — and handed their critics another devastating talking point.
