[ariel-maidana]

What?

Closes #85199. Follow-up to #83563.

Raises the Media & Text content padding from zero specificity to one class (:root :where(.wp-block-media-text > .wp-block-media-text__content)). Classic themes' CSS resets no longer remove it, and theme.json and theme styles can still override it.

Why?

#83563 wrapped the default padding: 0 8% in :where(), so it has zero specificity. Many classic themes ship the Meyer-style reset (html, body, div, … { padding: 0 }), including Twenty Eleven. The text column is a div, so that reset (0,0,1) now beats the block's default (0,0,0). On the front end, the text sits flush against the media in every Media & Text block on the site, with no change to the content. The editor is unaffected because classic themes don't load their front-end stylesheet there.

Since 24.2.0 we've had reports on WordPress.com across Penscratch 2, Argent, Cubic and Twenty Eleven. It also reproduces on a clean install with Twenty Eleven.

How?

• Wraps the selector in :root :where(), the pattern Global Styles uses: :root :where(.wp-block-media-text > .wp-block-media-text__content), specificity 0,1,0.
• That beats element-level resets (0,0,1) and stays below the pre-24.2 rule (0,2,0), so most of Media & Text: Lower the specificity of the content padding #83563's intent holds:
  • Theme class rules such as .entry-content .wp-block-media-text__content (0,2,0) still win.
  • The theme.json override from Media & Text: Lower the specificity of the content padding #83563's testing steps compiles to :root :where(.wp-block-media-text .wp-block-media-text__content), which is 0,1,0, a tie. It still wins because per-block global styles are attached to global-styles, which prints after the block's stylesheet. Tested with Twenty Twenty-Five on this branch: with the override the computed padding is 0, without it 8%. Worth a reviewer's eye in case there's a load path where that order flips.
• No markup changes, so there's no deprecation and no block validation impact.

Testing Instructions

1. Activate Twenty Eleven, with this branch's Gutenberg active.
2. Add a Media & Text block with an image and a paragraph. Publish.
3. View it on the front end. The text column has its 8% side padding. On trunk it has none, because the theme's reset overrides it.
4. Switch to a block theme (e.g. Twenty Twenty-Five) and confirm Media & Text looks the same as on trunk.
5. Repeat Media & Text: Lower the specificity of the content padding #83563's check: in theme.json, add "css": "& .wp-block-media-text__content { padding: 0; }" under styles.blocks.core/media-text. Reload, and confirm the padding is removed in the editor and on the front end.

Testing Instructions for Keyboard

No UI change.

Screenshots or screencast

Before	After

With the fix, DevTools shows the block's rule applied and Twenty Eleven's reset padding: 0 overridden:

Use of AI Tools

I used Claude Code (Claude Opus 5.5) to trace the regression to #83563, write the change and changelog entry, and draft this description. It also checked the cascade in headless Chrome against Twenty Eleven's reset and the compiled theme.json override. I reviewed the change and reproduced the bug and the fix myself.

[github-actions]

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[ariel-maidana]

Could a maintainer please add [Type] Regression and [Block] Media & Text? This is a front-end regression from #83563 in 24.2, so it would be good to backport to the 24.3 RC.

[aaronrobertshaw]

I wonder if we should lean into the same approach that Global Styles in general uses to achieve the 0-1-0 specificity. That is, wrapping the entire selector in :root :where(). That pattern is so common in this codebase now that it almost doesn't need the explanatory inline comment.

[ciampo]

Yes, let's do that

:root :where(.wp-block-media-text > .wp-block-media-text__content)

[aaronrobertshaw]

@ariel-maidana I've added the requested labels. Looks like this will need a rebase and minor conflict resolved. I'll try and give it a review tomorrow if nobody beats me too it.

[ciampo]

Needs a rebase + conflict solving

[ciampo]

Yes, let's do that

:root :where(.wp-block-media-text > .wp-block-media-text__content)

[ariel-maidana]

Thank you @aaronrobertshaw !

[aaronrobertshaw]

I have given this a quick test.

✅ Twenty Eleven gets its 8% padding back on the front end
✅ Twenty Twenty-Five is unchanged

:root :where() versus this selector

I also tried the :root :where() version. Both are 0-1-0, and they behaved the same.

So I'd go with :root :where() to match the rest of block library, and drop the inline comment.

[im3dabasia]

+1 to the :root :where() suggestion. I tested it locally on classic and block themes, and it works as expected 👍

Once the selector is switched, the inline comment is dropped and the changelog conflict is resolved, this looks good to go.

Twenty Eleven (classic)

Before	After

Customizer CSS overrides it	Theme class rule overrides it

Twenty Twenty-Four (block)

Default unchanged	theme.json CSS overrides it	Site Editor CSS overrides it

---

[softglazee]

Test Report

Description

This report validates whether the indicated patch works as expected.

Patch tested: #85200 (head cad6d39)

Environment

• WordPress: 7.2-beta1-64606-src (wordpress-develop local environment in Docker)
• PHP: 8.3.32
• Server: nginx/1.31.3
• Database: MySQL 9.7.1
• Browser: Chrome 155.0.8059.85
• OS: Windows 11 Pro
• Theme: Twenty Eleven
• MU Plugins: None activated
• Plugins: None activated

How the patch was applied

There is no plugin build for this PR yet: only the labelling workflows have run for cad6d39. Since the change is a single selector, I applied it to the stylesheet that WordPress 7.2 Beta 1 inlines for this block (wp-includes/blocks/media-text/style.css and style.min.css), changing :where(.wp-block-media-text > .wp-block-media-text__content) to .wp-block-media-text > :where(.wp-block-media-text__content). WordPress 7.2 Beta 1 already ships the selector from #83563, so the bug shows without the Gutenberg plugin.

Steps

1. Activate Twenty Eleven.
2. Publish a post with a Media & Text block (an image and a paragraph).
3. On the front end, read the computed padding of .wp-block-media-text__content and list every CSS rule that sets its padding.
4. Apply the change and repeat. Then add a theme-style rule .entry-content .wp-block-media-text__content { padding: 0 } and repeat.
5. Restore the original stylesheet and repeat as a control.

Actual Results

Run	Computed padding (left / right)	Rule that wins
Before (7.2 Beta 1)	0px / 0px	Twenty Eleven reset html, body, div, ... { padding: 0 } (0,0,1) over :where(.wp-block-media-text > .wp-block-media-text__content) (0,0,0)
With the PR selector	23.37px / 23.37px (8% of the 292px text column)	.wp-block-media-text > :where(.wp-block-media-text__content) (0,1,0)
PR selector + theme class rule	0px / 0px	.entry-content .wp-block-media-text__content (0,2,0)
Original restored (control)	0px / 0px	Twenty Eleven reset

1. ✅ Issue resolved with patch.

Additional Notes

• Before the change, the text runs into the image on the front end. With it, the default gap is back.
• A theme class rule still overrides the default, as the PR description says.
• Not retested here: the theme.json override and the editor. The PR description covers those with Twenty Twenty-Five.
• WordPress 7.2 Beta 1 core contains the zero-specificity selector (its pinned Gutenberg build includes Media & Text: Lower the specificity of the content padding #83563), so classic-theme sites on 7.2 are affected without the plugin. That supports the 7.2 backport label.

Thanks @ariel-maidana for the fix.

AI assistance: Yes. I used Claude (Anthropic) to set up the test environment, run the tests and draft this report, and I reviewed the results before posting.

[im3dabasia]

Thanks @softglazee for testing the patch!

The plan is to go with this suggestion so that we get a specificity of 0,1,0. This way, we solve both the original issue and #85199.

[ciampo]

@ariel-maidana , are you able to continue the work here?

[ariel-maidana]

@ciampo I'll make the changes and update the PR.

[ariel-maidana]

Thanks @ciampo, @aaronrobertshaw and @im3dabasia, and @softglazee for testing.

Pushed 7299ad1, which switches the rule to :root :where(.wp-block-media-text > .wp-block-media-text__content) as suggested. Specificity is still 0,1,0, so the behavior doesn't change. Re-tested on the build:

• Twenty Eleven: the content padding is back at 8%, and the theme's div { padding: 0 } reset no longer removes it.
• Twenty Twenty-Five: 8% by default, and 0 with a theme.json css override on the content area.

The theme.json override and this rule now use the same selector shape, so they tie on specificity. The override wins because global-styles prints after the block stylesheet, as noted in the description. I've updated the description to match the new selector and dropped the 0,0,2 alternative.

[ariel-maidana]

CI is green apart from Playwright shard 5, which hit the 45-minute job timeout without a test failure (the same timeout shows up occasionally on trunk). Could someone re-run the failed jobs? Thank you!

[aaronrobertshaw]

Thanks for the update @ariel-maidana 👍

Looks like we'll need another rebase and a minor changelog conflict resolved. Then this should be good to go.

I re-tested after the latest changes:

✅ Twenty Eleven: the content padding is back at 8%, on the front end and in the editor. The theme's div { padding: 0 } reset no longer wins.
✅ Twenty Twenty-Five: 8% by default. With the theme.json css override from #83563, it's 0 on the front end. Both rules are 0-1-0, and the override wins because global-styles prints after the block styles.
✅ The description matches the code now.

One optional nit: the inline comment could go now, since :root :where() is the usual pattern. Might be worth doing now while you resolve the changelog conflict.

I'm happy to approve now pending those tweaks.

[ariel-maidana]

Thank you @aaronrobertshaw !
Rebased and resolved the changelog conflict and removed the inline comment. Thanks for re-testing!

[github-actions]

There was a conflict while trying to cherry-pick the commit to the wp/7.2 branch. Please resolve the conflict manually and create a PR to the wp/7.2 branch.

PRs to wp/7.2 are similar to PRs to trunk, but you should base your PR on the wp/7.2 branch instead of trunk.

# Checkout the wp/7.2 branch instead of trunk.
git checkout wp/7.2

# Create a new branch for your PR.
git checkout -b my-branch

# Cherry-pick the commit.
git cherry-pick 6df010b7abd2d0ba4971203d6e1bc9c32a77c36e

# Check which files have conflicts.
git status

# Resolve the conflict...
# Add the resolved files to the staging area.
git status
git add .
git cherry-pick --continue

# Push the branch to the repository
git push origin my-branch

# Create a PR and set the base to the wp/7.2 branch.
# See https://docs.github.com/en/pull-requests/collaborating-with-pull-requests/proposing-changes-to-your-work-with-pull-requests/changing-the-base-branch-of-a-pull-request.

[t-hamano]

If this PR is needed for WordPress 7.2, could someone manually create a backport PR?

[im3dabasia]

Thanks @t-hamano! Opened a manual backport in #85821 (resolved a changelog conflict). Could someone review it?