‘Circumvent the lies of the mainstream media’: War Dept. announces new Pentagon press corps

The U.S. Department of War on Wednesday announced a newly approved Pentagon press corps after most media outlets balked at a new policy reporters had been asked to sign that would restrict their access to personnel in the mammoth building.

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell posted to X about the development, saying the new press pool includes more than 60 reporters, “representing a broad spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists.” Parnell said the new system will help “circumvent the lies of the mainstream media.”

Today, the Department of War is announcing the next generation of the Pentagon press corps.

We are excited to announce over 60 journalists, representing a broad spectrum of new media outlets and independent journalists, have signed the Pentagon’s media access policy and will be…

— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) October 22, 2025

The War Department came under withering criticism when Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the new policy, one that included tighter restrictions on what reporters cover and who they could talk to in the Pentagon without approval.

The Pentagon Press Association called the new set of rules an “unprecedented message of intimidation.”

According to the U.K.’s Independent, only one media organization agreed to sign on to the policy: One America News. Included in those outlets that refused to sign are Fox News and Newsmax.

Dozens of reporters handed in the badges and walked out of the Pentagon en mass last Wednesday, carrying their belongings with them.

Thomas Antony responded to the announcement on X, taking issue with Parnell’s characterization that the previous press corps “self-deported.”

Said Antony: “They didn’t self-deport; they were pushed out for refusing to let the Pentagon pre-approve their stories. This isn’t a new press corps. It’s a compliant one. What happens when the only news you get is government-approved?”