This week the Pentagon disinvited the military’s Star & Stripes publication from attending Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s press conference. That may seem like a minor matter as President Donald Trump and Hegseth have issued broad warnings to the U.S. media about what they characterize as “unpatriotic” coverage of the war in Iran. But it signals a turning point for the newspaper, which has been continuously reporting on military matters since World War II.
The move comes after the Pentagon issued a memo to Stars and Stripes in January outlining new restrictions on content in the newspaper, including a requirement to abide by “good order and discipline.” The newspaper is also expected to “modernize its operations” and “refocus its content away from woke distractions that siphon morale.”
“The Pentagon blackballed its own newspaper from covering its own press conference?” wrote Kevin Baron, a Stars & Stripes reporter. “Reminder, Stars & Stripes employees are US Army civilians. Their editorial independence is protected by Congress specifically to prevent political leaders from feeding troops propaganda.”
The censorship of Stars & Stripes follows the Pentagon’s October 2025 issuance of a new policy for all media. Credentialed outlets must agree to a policy that states reporters cannot gather or publish information from the Pentagon that is not specifically authorized, including declassified information and off-the-record conversations.
Most media outlets refused to sign the agreement, leading to ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News, Fox News, the Associated Press, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and countless other outlets losing their Pentagon press credentials.
As media outlets continue to cover the escalating war in the Middle East, Hegseth has bemoaned much of the coverage as “fake news,” taking particular aim at CNN last week. “Fake news from CNN reports that the Trump administration underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz,” he said during a press conference. “Patently ridiculous, of course. For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage. CNN doesn’t think we thought of that. It’s a fundamentally unserious report. The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”
Hegseth is referring to the billionaire chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance’s buyout of Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, in a $111 billion deal. The deal has been the subject of lawsuits and controversy alleging Ellison’s father Larry Ellison, Oracle founder and one of the richest people in the world, and Trump had finessed the deal away from Netflix.
Even Fox News thinks the media is under fire, referencing Hegseth’s characterization of journalists as “unpatriotic” and “anti-Trump” as they ask questions about the war in Iran. Trump, meanwhile, praised FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s warning about media outlets “correcting course” on their war coverage.
“Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions – also known as the fake news – have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up,” wrote Carr in a post on X. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”
Meanwhile the families of U.S. military members killed in Iran have spoken out against claims from Hegseth that bereaved families urged him to “finish” the job in the Middle East. Hegseth told reporters yesterday that he had spoken with the families of all six service members killed in a refueling tanker crash last week.
“What I heard through tears, through hugs, through strength and through unbreakable resolve, was the same from family after family,” said Hegseth. “They said, ‘Finish this. Honor their sacrifice. Do not waver. Do not stop until the job is done.”
Charles Simmons, father of Ohio Tech Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, who was killed in the crash, denied discussing that with Hegseth. “I can’t speak for the other families,” Simmons told NBC News. “When he spoke to me, that was not something we talked about. I didn’t say anything along those lines.”
Stephan Douglas, cousin of Tyler Simmons, one of the three Ohioans killed in the crash, said the conflict was unnecessary in a weekend interview with Columbus news station WCMH. “This could have been prevented,” said Douglas. “We didn’t need to be in this war. This is uncalled for, and this is what we get.”
“Families are suffering right now,” said Bernice Smith, Simmons’ grandmother. “Just to create a war because you want to create a war is not right.”
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Adding this site to my regular reading list, the post earned that on its own, and a quick stop at wildspireemporium sealed the decision, the kind of place worth checking back with from time to time because it consistently produces material that holds up against a critical reading too which I really value.
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Bookmark earned and shared the link with one specific person who would care, and a look at dreamridgeemporium got the same targeted share, sharing carefully rather than broadcasting is a discipline I try to maintain and this site is generating shares from me at a sustainable rate rather than the spam rate of viral content.
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Picked a friend mentally as the audience for this and decided to send the link, and a look at urbanlegendstore confirmed the send was the right choice, choosing whom to share content with is a small act of curation that I take more seriously than the public sharing most platforms encourage these days online.
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Reading this on a long flight and finding it the best thing I read across hours of trying, and a stop at urbanharvesthub kept the streak going, when content beats long flight reading you know it has substance because flight reading is a hard test of a piece given the alternatives available everywhere.
Will be sharing this with a couple of people who care about the topic, and a stop at noblearena added more material worth passing along, the kind of site that is generous with quality content and does not make you jump through hoops to access it which is appreciated more than the team probably realises.
I usually skim posts like these but this one held my attention all the way through, and a stop at portmill did the same, that is a strong endorsement coming from me because I am usually quick to bounce when content gets repetitive or fails to deliver on its initial promise made in the headline.
Liked the way the post got out of its own way, and a stop at brightwoodmarket extended that invisible craft, the best writing you barely notice while reading because it is doing its work without drawing attention to itself and this site has clearly mastered that disappearing act across the pieces I have read.
Now appreciating that the post did not require external context to follow, and a look at trendandstylecorner maintained the same self contained quality, content that respects new visitors by being readable without prerequisites is content with broader accessibility and this site has clearly invested in keeping each piece reader friendly for fresh arrivals.
Came in skeptical and left mostly convinced, that is the highest praise I can offer, and a look at fleetessence pushed me further in the same direction, content that survives a critical first read is rare and worth recognising because most blog posts crumble under any real scrutiny these days when you actually pay attention closely.
Reading this prompted me to subscribe to my first newsletter in months, and a stop at softwinterfields confirmed the subscribe was the right call, content that earns a newsletter signup is content that has cleared a higher trust bar than a casual visit and this site has clearly earned that level of commitment from me.
Worth recognising that the post did not pretend to be the final word on the topic, and a stop at bluehavenstyles continued that humility, content that admits its own scope and limits is more trustworthy than content that overreaches and this site has clearly developed the editorial maturity to know what it can and cannot claim well.
A piece that prompted a small mental rearrangement of how I order related ideas, and a look at newgrovehorizon extended that rearranging effect, content that affects the structure of my thinking rather than just adding to it is content with the deepest kind of impact and this site is reaching that depth for me today.
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Reading this gave me a small jolt of recognition for an experience I thought was just mine, and a stop at softpetalstore produced more such jolts, content that universalises private experiences without flattening them is doing genuinely useful work and this site is providing that recognition function for me reliably across topics I read.
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A clean piece that knew exactly what it wanted to say and said it, and a look at brightwindcollections maintained the same clarity of intention, knowing the goal of a piece before writing is something most blog content lacks and the clarity of purpose here shows up in every paragraph for any careful reader to notice.
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