The Pentagon has imposed sweeping restrictions on media, requiring journalists to pledge that they will not collect or report any information, even unclassified documents, without formal clearance.
On Thursday, Pentagon announced that the Department of War (DoW), recently re-branded from the Department of Defense (DoD) under the Trump administration requires that all "information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified.”
The document further warned that journalists who report on matters outside the Pentagon's explicit directives could be considered "a security or safety risk" and have their credentials revoked.
It further added that only individuals with proper clearance, signed non-disclosure agreements, and a “need-to-know” may access classified information.
“The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon, the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules or go home,” US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth wrote on X on Friday.
The decision follows earlier restrictions introduced in May, which confined reporters to designated areas such as press pens, the food court, and the courtyard.
Hegseth has faced controversy since March, when he shared details of US strikes in Yemen in a private chat that accidentally included a journalist.
Since then, he has barred several major outlets, including The New York Times, CNN, Politico, and NPR, from Pentagon office space.
The new rules have drawn sharp criticism. Mike Balsamo, president of the National Press Club, called the policy “a direct assault on independent journalism at the very place where independent scrutiny matters most, the US military.”
He warned that if military news must be pre-approved, “the public is no longer getting independent reporting. It is getting only what officials want them to see. That should alarm every American.”
The restrictions come amid Trump's escalating attacks on the media. Speaking on Thursday, he asserted, without evidence, that “97% against me," adding, “They give me only bad press,” and suggested that broadcasters' licenses should be “taken away.”
Source:Websites
