Defense Department says military newspaper Stars and Stripes must eliminate ‘woke distractions’

The Pentagon announced significant changes to Stars and Stripes, the historic independent military newspaper, focusing the publication on “reporting for our warfighters” while eliminating what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office described as “woke distractions.”

The announcement, made Thursday by Hegseth’s spokesman Sean Parnell via social media, offered limited specifics but represented a marked shift for the news outlet that traces its roots back to the Civil War. The statement notably omitted any reference to the publication’s long-established editorial independence from military leadership.

“Stars and Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters,” Parnell stated. “It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.”

According to Pentagon statements, approximately half of the outlet’s content would now be generated by the Defense Department itself, and the publication would cease using content from external news services like The Associated Press and Reuters. Additionally, reports suggest the Pentagon aims to have all Stars and Stripes content written by active-duty service members, a dramatic departure from its current civilian-led structure.

The Pentagon also announced plans to eliminate 1990s-era directives that governed Stars and Stripes operations, raising questions about whether such changes can be implemented without congressional authorization. Congress had previously established the publication’s independence in the 1990s after incidents of military leadership interference in editorial decisions.

Max Lederer, the outlet’s publisher, expressed concern about the changes, noting he first learned about them from Parnell’s social media post rather than through direct communication from Pentagon leadership.

“This will either destroy the value of the organization or significantly reduce its value,” Lederer said. He emphasized that Stars and Stripes’ independence as a news organization is precisely what makes it valuable to the military community.

The publication, which receives approximately half its budget from the Pentagon and employs staff considered Defense Department employees, has operated under a mission statement emphasizing editorial independence “governed by the principles of the First Amendment.”

Jacqueline Smith, the congressionally-established ombudsman for Stars and Stripes who reports to the House Armed Services Committee, defended the publication’s current approach. “I think it’s very important that Stars and Stripes maintains its editorial independence, which is the basis of its credibility,” she said, adding that the outlet reports on matters important to service members and their families—not just weapons systems or war strategy—and that she had detected nothing “woke” about its reporting.

This move follows previous attempts to alter the publication’s status. During Trump’s first term in 2020, then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper attempted to eliminate government funding for Stars and Stripes—effectively shutting it down—before being overruled by the president.

The changes come amid wider restrictions on journalists by the Trump administration. Most reporters from legacy news outlets have departed the Pentagon rather than agree to new rules imposed by Hegseth that they believe would give him excessive control over their reporting. The New York Times has filed a lawsuit challenging these regulations.

The Washington Post recently reported that applicants for Stars and Stripes positions were being asked how they would advance Trump’s executive orders and policy priorities, raising concerns about loyalty tests for journalists. Smith clarified that these questions came from the government’s Office of Personnel Management, not the newspaper itself, but maintained they were inappropriate for journalistic positions.

“The loyalty is to the truth, not the administration,” Smith emphasized.

These developments represent the latest in a series of moves by the administration affecting government-funded media outlets, including attempts to reshape Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which provide independent news in countries overseas.