Pentagon rolls out welcome wagon for new MAGA-friendly press corps

Source: msn/The Independent

12h


Right-wing media outlets are set to be welcomed to the Pentagon next week, following the mass exodus of mainstream news organizations earlier this year in protest of government-imposed restrictions on their reporting. The outlets, which include the pro-Trump cable channel, One America News; right-wing website The Federalist; ultra-conservative newspaper The Epoch Times; and others, will be shown around, pick up credentials and meet senior officials,The Washington Post reported.

Events will run Monday through Wednesday, and include a meet-and-greet with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to the outlet, along with a briefing from department press secretary Kingsley Wilson.

Six weeks ago, dozens of journalists packed up their desks and handed in their press badges, rather than comply with new reporting restrictions imposed by Hegseth. Among the new rules is a ban on reporters soliciting any information – classified or otherwise – from government employees without prior authorization from the Pentagon.

The Pentagon Press Association, which represents around 100 journalists, lambasted the “unprecedented message of intimidation” caused by the policy, and urged the department to reverse course over its assault on press freedom. The majority of the press corps departed the Pentagon in the wake of the policy, leaving around 15 reporters.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/pentagon-rolls-out-welcome-wagon-for-new-maga-friendly-press-corps/ar-AA1Rp3e2