Pete Hegseth, the current Secretary of War, has made it extremely clear that he wants to restrict journalists’ rights. Fortunately, news outlets have something to say about it. Hegseth’s true intentions are clear as he does not want the public to read journalistic pieces about the U.S government.

His new “rules” are highly manipulative to the people of the United States. It highlights that reporters cannot solicit or report on anything the Department of Defense does not approve of. This’ll lead to a lack of information from news outlets that are designed to inform the public. Luckily, these outlets have rejected the Pentagon’s new press rules.

Newsroom leaders and media lawyers reviewed this document from the Pentagon and claimed it was “simply unacceptable,” along with that, “it’s an infringement on First Amendment rights. It has the potential to criminalize acts of journalism,” according to CNN. I completely agree with this statement. Journalists should be able to share important governmental news with U.S citizens

Dozens of these news outlets have already stated they are not signing onto these problematic rules. Right-leaning publications have even denied Hegseth’s rules.

NewsMax, a right-leaning news channel, has addressed that, “it is not going to sign this pledge,” and that, “it wants some sort of resolution, but it’s not going to sign the pledge as it stands now.”

Fox News has been recorded to be taking the same stand on the topic. These pro-Trump outlets have all stated that they will not be following or approving these rules, which I find ironic.

I believe money is the real reason why these conservative outlets rejected Hegseth’s plans. The more public attention they rake in, the more money they earn. Implementing these rules would mean less attention and interest among their viewers. The real reason behind Hegseth’s plans is painfully obvious. His true motives are the same as always: keep the people uneducated and clueless.