A growing coalition of major American news organizations is refusing to sign a new Pentagon policy that they say undermines press freedom and violates constitutional protections, according to “The Guardian”.
The Defense Department’s directive, introduced last month by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, would require journalists covering the Pentagon to pledge not to obtain “unauthorized materials” and to refrain from accessing certain areas unless accompanied by an official escort. Outlets that decline to sign the agreement were told to surrender their credentials within 24 hours of Tuesday’s 5 p.m. deadline.
The proposal has sparked an unusual wave of unified resistance across the media spectrum. On Monday, The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, Reuters, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Associated Press, NPR, HuffPost, and others announced they would not comply.
“The proposed restrictions undercut First Amendment protections by placing unnecessary constraints on gathering and publishing information,” said Washington Post executive editor Matt Murray, vowing that his newsroom would “continue to vigorously and fairly report on the Pentagon and the government.”
The New York Times said the rules “constrain how journalists can report on the U.S. military, which is funded by nearly $1 trillion in taxpayer dollars,” while HuffPost editor-in-chief Whitney Snyder called them “flatly unconstitutional” and “aimed at snuffing out actual news-gathering.”
Even typically conservative outlets such as Newsmax declined to sign. “We believe the requirements are unnecessary and onerous,” the network said, adding that it hopes the Pentagon will “review the matter further.”
Hegseth, a former Fox News weekend anchor, responded on social media with a dismissive wave emoji and later posted a list titled “Press Credentialing for Dummies,” declaring that the “press no longer roams free.” He also reposted a cartoon mocking The Atlantic as a crying baby; a jab following the magazine’s earlier clash with Pentagon officials after editor Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added to a Signal group chat.
A Pentagon spokesperson, Sean Parnell, insisted that the policy merely requires journalists to “acknowledge” its terms, not agree to them, accusing reporters of having “a full-blown meltdown” online.
The Pentagon Press Association, which represents defense correspondents, strongly objected, saying the new restrictions appear “designed to stifle a free press” and could expose reporters to legal risk “for simply doing their jobs.” The association warned that the rules send “an unprecedented message of intimidation” to Defense Department employees and journalists alike.
One America News, a far-right outlet known for its pro-Trump stance, was the only major organization to sign the new pledge. Host and former congressman Matt Gaetz said OAN was “happy to follow these reasonable conditions.”
For now, the standoff pits the Pentagon’s new leadership against nearly every major newsroom in the United States; a collision between secrecy and the centuries-old fight for the public’s right to know.
