President’s Office warns 2 media outlets over conduct at press conference

The President’s Office has warned two media outlets over the conduct of their journalists at President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s press conference on Monday, asking them to adhere to standards of journalistic conduct.

The warning follows a press conference on September 7 that was held under tighter controls than previous press conferences conducted by President Muizzu.

Invitations were initially extended to selected media outlets by the President’s Office. Some outlets that were not initially invited were later allowed to attend after contacting the office, while others were denied access without being given a reason.

The arrangement prompted concerns from some journalists attending the press conference.

The President’s Office has since sent warnings to Sangu TV and Channel 13 over the conduct of journalists representing the two outlets at the event.

In messages sent through the WhatsApp number used by the President’s Office to issue press conference invitations, the office said it regularly advises journalists to observe standards of conduct.

“Although we repeatedly advise all journalists to adhere to standards of journalistic conduct, we regret the manner in which the journalist representing your media outlet conducted themselves at the press conference held by the President of the Republic on September 7, 2026,” the message said.

The President’s Office did not specify which actions by the journalists it considered to have breached the standards.

“We advise that such conduct should not be repeated,” the message added.

Monday’s press conference was also moderated by Chief Spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef, marking the first time a moderator had been used to manage an entire press conference held by President Muizzu.

When journalists questioned the President about some media outlets being denied access, Muizzu initially said he was unaware of the matter. He later said the press conference was being conducted according to established procedures.

Dhauru was among the media outlets that were not invited to the press conference. The publication said it had asked the President’s Office why it was denied access but had not received a response as of Wednesday.

The President’s Office had previously barred Adhadhu from attending its press conferences. The outlet has not attended a President’s Office press conference since the decision was taken about four months ago.

According to the report, Adhadhu has not been formally informed of the reason for the decision despite writing about the restriction. It has also sent two letters to the President’s Office seeking an explanation but has not received a response.