Major U.S. and international news organizations, including The New York Times, The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse (AFP), and Fox News, declined Tuesday to sign newly imposed Pentagon media rules, a move that could result in the revocation of their press credentials.
The Defense Department’s new policy follows a series of steps to limit press access inside the Pentagon. In recent months, the department has forced some outlets to vacate offices in the building, restricted movement within the facility, and significantly reduced the number of briefings.
The media policy "gags Pentagon employees" by threatening retaliation against reporters who seek out information that has not been pre-approved for release, the Pentagon Press Association (PPA) said.
AFP, one of the organizations refusing to sign, said in a statement Tuesday that it "cannot sign up to the terms of the Pentagon document that would require media to acknowledge insufficiently clear new policies that appear to fly in the face of US constitutional principles and of the basic tenets of journalism."
"We shall continue to cover the Pentagon and the US military freely and fairly, as we have done for decades," the agency added.
Major television networks — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, and NBC — released a joint statement rejecting the rules, saying they would "restrict journalists' ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues."
Along with Fox, other conservative-leaning outlets such as The Washington Times and Newsmax are also reportedly refusing to sign the new agreement, which could lead to as many as 100 press passes being revoked.
The new rules mark the latest in a broader effort to limit media access to the Pentagon — the largest employer in the United States, with an annual budget in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Earlier this year, the Pentagon required eight outlets — including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NBC, and NPR — to vacate dedicated office spaces in the building. Officials cited a need to make room for other outlets, reportedly with a focus on accommodating conservative media.
The department also now mandates that journalists be accompanied by official escorts when moving beyond a limited number of designated areas within the Pentagon — an additional restriction on access.
Press briefings have also become increasingly rare. The department has held only about half a dozen briefings this year, compared to an average of two or more per week under President Joe Biden’s administration, which left office in January.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — a former Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran — has made cracking down on leaks a priority.
However, earlier this year, he was inadvertently involved in the release of sensitive information, after he shared details about upcoming strikes against Yemen’s Huthi rebels in a chat on messaging app Signal to which a journalist had been mistakenly added.
Hegseth has also reportedly used Signal to discuss U.S. strikes on Yemen with his wife and other people not usually involved in such discussions.
His use of Signal has prompted an investigation by the Pentagon inspector general’s office.
