The Pentagon says it will require credentialed journalists at the military headquarters to sign a pledge to refrain from reporting information that has not been authorized for release \u2014 including unclassified information.<\/p>\n
Journalists who don\u2019t abide by the policy risk losing credentials that provide access to the Pentagon, under a 17-page memo distributed Friday that steps up media restrictions imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cInformation must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified,\u201d the directive states. The signature form includes an array of security requirements for credentialed media at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n
Advocates for press freedoms denounced the non-disclosure requirement as an assault on independent journalism. The new Pentagon restrictions arrive as Trump expands threats, lawsuits and government pressure<\/a> as he remakes the American media landscape.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reporting. It is getting only what officials want them to see,\u201d said National Press Club President Mike Balsamo, also national law enforcement editor at The Associated Press. \u201cThat should alarm every American.\u201d<\/p>\n Hegseth says no more permission to \u2018roam the halls\u2019<\/p>\n Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News Channel personality, highlighted the restrictions in a social media post on X.<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u2018press\u2019 does not run the Pentagon \u2014 the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility,\u201d Hegseth said. \u201cWear a badge and follow the rules \u2014 or go home.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pentagon this year has evicted many news organizations<\/a> while imposing a series of restrictions on the press that include banning reporters from entering wide swaths of the Pentagon<\/a> without a government escort \u2014 areas where the press had access in past administrations as it covers the activities of the world\u2019s most powerful military.<\/p>\n