Pentagon prescribes journalists what they can write

The US Department of Defense has introduced new restrictions on journalistic reporting on the US military. According to the guidelines announced on Friday, no information may be published that were not officially released by the Pentagon. According to a communication distributed to journalists, media representatives must commit themselves to compliance with the new provisions in an affidavit – otherwise they are at risk of withdrawing their accreditation.

The Pentagon “remains committed to transparency in order to promote the public accountability and trust”, the statement says. However, information would have to be “approved by a responsible civil servant before it was published, even if they are not classified as secret”.

This means that the publication of internal information, which is not mentioned by name, is practically excluded from the official communication channels. According to the notification, the new restriction applies to both secret and “controlled, non -secret information”.

The letter also contains detailed information on far-reaching new restrictions on the places where Pentagon reporters can move without official accompaniment.

Defense Minister Pete Hegseth said on X: “The press must no longer move on the premises of a secure facility. Wear a ID and follow the rules – or go home.”

The Washington Journalist Association “National Press Club” condemned the Pentagon guidelines for information procurement as a “direct attack on independent journalism exactly where an independent look is most important: in the US military”. The association asked the US Department of Defense to withdraw the claim.

Criticism also came from the renowned “New York Times”, which had been sued a few days ago by US President Donald Trump for alleged defamation of compensation of $ 15 billion (around $ 12.7 billion). The new provisions on Pentagon reporting “violated the constitutional property rights of a free press in a democracy,” said the newspaper on Saturday. They were “a new attempt to limit the right of the population, to understand what their government is doing”.

Trump has been in an unprecedented way against the media since his re -entry into the White House, which, according to his presentation, spread lies and false information about him and his government. According to the organization “Reporter Without Borders” (RSF), the situation for journalists in the United States has intensified significantly on September 10th on September 10th. Since then, the organization has seen “a real escalation,” said the managing director of the German RSF section, Anja Osterhaus, the AFP news agency.

After his statements on Kirk after his statements, the show of the show of satirist Jimmy Kimmel after his statements. In July, the broadcaster CBS had already announced the end of the “late show” of satirist Stephen Colbert. He is also a decisive Trump critic.