The Pentagon's New Restrictive Rules on Freedom of the Press

The First Amendment calls for the freedom of the press. In typical Trump administration fashion, constitutional language is being overlooked, misinterpreted, and violated. Behind the new policy is Cabinet Member and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, infamous for his text message follies. Now, a mass exodus of journalists has occurred, leaving the Pentagon instead of agreeing to restrictive rules.

So, what does the Pentagon's new policy exactly entail? In order to answer that, we first have to look at the decades of history surrounding the relationship between the Pentagon and the Press. For decades, a staple of U.S democracy has been the freedom of the Press to report on crucial foreign policy issues through rigorous journalism in the Pentagon. Mainstream media organizations disseminate political information to millions of Americans quickly and efficiently. A key facilitator of this process is our government's willingness to work with the press. Now, any story published must be specifically authorized by the Department of Defense (now referred to as the Department of War). In response, most major news outlets have completely withdrawn from the Pentagon's reporting process simply because the new rules are too restrictive. While this administration claims its policies are aligned with First Amendment-protected rights, reality paints a different picture. If the DoD has complete control over the content of various mainstream media publications, then the press is no longer free.

Today's attacks on the free press are nothing new. Earlier this year, the Trump administration orchestrated massive cuts to funding. Both NPR and CBS were victims of a $1.1 billion dollar cut to public broadcasting. The consequences have already led to tangible negative effects when it comes to the First Amendment. Although it may seem contradictory, state-funded media has been a cornerstone of America's dissemination of information. Simply put, state-funded media is a huge factor into local news, a key indicator of a strong democracy. Moreover, public media is typically free of bias as proven empirically. However, the Trump administration's policy decisions act under the false assumption that the media has a liberal bias. Precisely, that's why

Overall, the Trump Administration's rampant attacks on protected Free Press signal a slippery slope. As increased government changes to free and public media rise, it is the American people who are worse off due to a lack of access to information.

— Samyak Duggirala