Overview
- Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the cohort now exceeds 60 people, including 26 previously credentialed reporters who signed the department’s new terms.
- The Defense Department has not released a full roster, but outlets that say they joined include The Gateway Pundit, Human Events, LindellTV, Frontlines from Turning Point USA, and The National Pulse, with RedState and Real America’s Voice reported from a draft announcement.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s protocol threatens credential revocation for journalists who solicit information not preapproved for release, prompting dozens of reporters to surrender badges and leave in-building coverage.
- Parnell cast the additions as independent “new media” that are more effective and balanced, referring to departing reporters as having “self-deported” from the Pentagon.
- Some conservative outlets declined to sign, including Fox News, Newsmax, and The Daily Caller, while only a few existing members such as One America News Network accepted the new terms, drawing sharp criticism from journalists like Barbara Starr and press-freedom groups.