The Pentagon’s New Rules Silence the Press — and the People’s Right to Know

The First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press as a cornerstone of democracy — yet, the Pentagon’s new rules for journalists threaten to dismantle that foundation piece by piece.

Last week, dozens of Pentagon correspondents walked out in protest after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced new restrictions that would effectively turn independent journalism into state-approved messaging. The policy requires reporters to sign a pledge agreeing not to gather information that the Department of War has not explicitly authorized — a move that several major outlets, including The New York Times, The Associated Press, and Reuters, have rightly refused to accept.

Fox News, often aligned with the Trump Administration, also joined the pushback. Meanwhile, networks friendly to the administration, such as One America News, have agreed to the new conditions — raising the troubling specter of a two-tiered media environment: one state-sanctioned, one silenced.

Hegseth’s memo claims these rules are about protecting “national security.” But history tells us that restricting the press rarely protects the people — it protects power. From the Pentagon Papers to modern-day whistleblowers, transparency has always been essential to holding the military-industrial complex accountable for how it uses public funds and human lives.

When journalists can no longer question, investigate, or verify what our government does in our name, we lose more than a free press — we lose public trust, accountability, and the truth itself.

At the Peace Economy Project, we believe that peace is inseparable from transparency. A militarized state that controls the flow of information cannot coexist with a healthy democracy.

We stand with journalists who refuse to sign away their First Amendment rights. Democracy demands an informed public — not a compliant press.