▲ On the 15th (local time), Pentagon reporters returned their access badges and packed their belongings in protest against media restrictions by the Department of Defense.
Journalists assigned to the U.S. Department of Defense, opposing the DoD’s media control, collectively returned their access badges and left the Pentagon press room.
The Pentagon Press Association, representing the department’s press corps, issued a statement on the 15th local time, revealing that the Department of Defense had revoked access badges from virtually all major media outlets in the U.S.
The association claimed that the DoD confiscated badges from journalists who did not agree with the new media policy, which they argue threatens to criminalize reporting on national security issues and exposes signees to the risk of prosecution.
The association members reiterated their commitment to reporting on the U.S. military, yet criticized the day as a dark moment for press freedom.
Previously, the U.S. Department of Defense had notified the press that journalists who report content without prior approval would have their access badges stripped and were instructed to vacate the premises unless they signed an agreement to comply.
In response, most major U.S. media organizations joined the movement to return their access badges, condemning the DoD’s guidelines as a violation of the Constitution and an infringement on the public’s right to know.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)