The Pentagon has introduced a new press corps that has
embraced a restrictive press policy, sparking concerns over free speech and
press freedom.
While major news outlets like The New York Times and Washington Post, as well as all of the broadcast networks, including Hegseth's former employer Fox News, will no longer have reporters in the Pentagon's hallways, DOD spokesperson Sean Parnell announced that they will be replaced by "a broad spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists."
But contrary to Parnell's claim, the majority of the organizations and "independent journalists" that comprise the Pentagon's "new media" press corps are MAGA-friendly, far-right commenters, and conservative YouTubers who have focused on extreme pro-Trump content.
Several right-wing outlets swiftly declared their support for the pledge, even though Parnell and the Pentagon's press office did not publicly reveal the names of the publications and journalists who had consented to the press restrictions, which prohibit reporters from requesting unclassified information from defense employees without the department's prior authorization.
These included the right-wing websites Gateway Pundit, Human Events, The Post Millennial, Just the News, and The National Pulse, as well as Lindell TV, a Trumpist propaganda streaming service created by Mike Lindell, the founder of MyPillow, who denied the election.
“Excited to announce @HumanEvents and @TPostMillennial have joined the Pentagon Press Corps,”
tweeted Human Events host Jack Posobiec, a fierce Trump loyalist who first gained notoriety for peddling the unhinged Pizzagate conspiracy theory.
“We are excited to announce over 60 journalists, representing a broad spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists, have signed the Pentagon’s media access policy and will be joining the new Pentagon press corps,”
Parnell declared in his announcement.
Additionally, Parnell claimed that 26 “journalists across 18 outlets were among the former Pentagon press corps who chose to sign the DOW media access policy.” Initially, it was estimated that just 15 reporters which included those from pro-Trump outlets One America News, The Federalist and The Epoch Times had agreed with the policy.
Many of the initial signatories are independent contractors who work for small, independent websites or for foreign news organizations, some of whom create content for social media nearly exclusively.
Additionally, The Australian, an Australian newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch, the founder of Fox News, changed its stance after the initial group of outlets and reporters who had agreed to the policy was made public, claiming that the press restrictions "raise serious concerns and place undue limits on press freedoms."
One America News, whose president said that the network's staff signed the agreement following a "thorough review," is actually the sole organization that signed onto the policy and frequently has correspondents at the Pentagon.
What are the long-term implications of Pentagon press restrictions?
The restrictions represent a significant retreat from
traditional openness and mark an unknown attempt to control and broaden press
access to one of the nation's most important government institutions. By
limiting journalists' capability to report, the government undermines
First Amendment protections and the public’s right to know.
Without independent intelligencers inside the Pentagon, critical investigative reporting may be delayed or blocked altogether, reducing responsibility. Literal exemplifications like Pentagon Papers reporting and Abu Ghraib content could have been also suppressed had similar programs been before.
Shielding the Pentagon from journalistic scrutiny enables government officers to shirk responsibility, adding the threat of misinformation and abuses of power. The public faces a less informed understanding of public defense policy and military conditioning.