SecDef Hegseth’s secret journalist blacklist

We don’t just deserve the truth and transparency; we demand it.

Pamela: As Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth make life-or-death decisions, independent journalism is critical to ensuring the public finds out what is actually happening.

But for months, the Pentagon has shut out the press — at the very moment when we need answers most. It’s looked like Defense Secretary Hegseth banning journalists from the Pentagon’s press office, and more recently, a Pentagon spokesperson threatening to blacklist a reporter, simply for asking too many questions about Trump’s disastrous Iran war.[1][2]

Moves to shield the Pentagon from scrutiny and accountability would be troubling at any time, Pamela. But amidst Trump’s genocidal threats against Iran at the United Nations, horrific stories of servicemembers struggling on the USS Lincoln, and as evidence mounts that the U.S. military has committed war crimes in Iran — limiting journalist access is outright dangerous.

Litigation on these bans is moving forward, but we don’t need to wait for the courts to rule to make our voices heard: The Pentagon should answer to the people. Together, we’ll remind Hegseth that we don’t just deserve the truth and transparency; we demand it.

These attacks against the press cannot stand. Sign the petition today to demand that the Pentagon end its press blacklist now.

ACT NOW

In the last few weeks alone, the Pentagon has been accused of obfuscating the number of U.S. servicemembers killed and injured in the war on Iran. The truth only came to light when The New York Times and other news organizations told the story to the public.

There’s still too much we don’t know. The Pentagon knows that meaningful oversight won’t be possible if journalists cannot get through the door.

Pamela, we refuse to allow any government agency to hide the human costs of war and avoid public scrutiny.

What began in the Pentagon press office has now risen to the halls of the White House as mainstream media outlets are shown the door. None of it is okay; none of it can be normalized.

The good news is that this Pentagon has been forced to change course before — earlier this year, a federal judge determined its restrictions against The New York Times were unconstitutional.[3] Public pressure can help push for change once again.

We need transparency and independent reporting more than ever. Add your name to demand the Pentagon end its journalist blacklist now.

We all deserve to know what is happening in wars and violence funded by our tax dollars. Military families deserve honest answers about the risks their loved ones are facing. And when innocent people are killed or injured, the public deserves to know the truth — and information paves the way toward accountability and justice.

Thank you for working for peace,
The Win Without War team

1. The Washington Post, "Pentagon bans journalists from press office, designating it a classified space"
2. The Intercept, "Pentagon Spokesperson Admits There’s a Secret Blacklist of Journalists"
3. The New York Times, "Read the Ruling in The Times’s Lawsuit Against the Pentagon"

 

 

 

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