From influencer-only briefings to memes of Donald Trump as the pope and a "Star Wars" Jedi master, the White House is creating its own alternate media reality.

Since Trump's return to the US presidency in January, his team has given right-wing "new media" an increasingly prominent place as it steps up its war on the traditional press.

But now the White House is going a step further, effectively creating its own government-run media operation to stoke up Trump's loyal base.

Last week Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt held three alternative briefings reserved for a hand-picked group of partisan outlets.

These "new media" sessions exist in a parallel universe from the traditional White House briefings, and are held in a special auditorium across the road that reporters cannot access freely.

"I absolutely agree with the premise of your question -- which I usually don't when I take questions at a podium," Leavitt told right-wing activist Jack Posobiec at a briefing on April 30.

Another question came from Dom Lucre, a proponent of the........

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