Pentagon Moves to Reclaim Stars and Stripes Mission, Sideline ‘Woke Distractions’

The Pentagon announced Thursday it will take direct editorial control of the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, a move officials say is aimed at restoring the outlet’s original mission and refocusing coverage on warfighting and the needs of America’s service members.

Top Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the Defense Department is stepping in to redirect the publication away from what he described as “woke distractions” that undermine morale. In a statement posted to X, Parnell said the Department of War is returning Stars and Stripes to its roots as a paper dedicated to reporting for warfighters, not echoing political or cultural trends coming out of Washington.

“We will modernize its operations, refocus its content away from woke distractions that syphon morale, and adapt it to serve a new generation of service members,” Parnell wrote. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reposted the statement, signaling top-level support for the shift.

Stars and Stripes, which operates under the Pentagon’s Defense Media Activity, has been editorially independent from Defense Department leadership since a congressional mandate in the 1990s. Its mission statement says it is governed by First Amendment principles. The paper has existed in some form since the Civil War and has reported consistently on the U.S. military since World War II, primarily serving troops stationed overseas.

Despite its independence, Stars and Stripes receives roughly half of its funding from the Defense Department, and its staff members are considered Pentagon employees. That arrangement has long fueled debate over where editorial independence ends and government oversight begins.

Parnell said the refocused paper will concentrate on “warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY,” adding that there would be no more recycled Beltway gossip or reprints from wire services like the Associated Press. The statement did not spell out specific changes to coverage, though Stars and Stripes already reports extensively on many of the topics Parnell listed.

In a message to the paper’s staff, Stars and Stripes Editor in Chief Erik Slavin defended the importance of an independent military press. Slavin wrote that service members who risk their lives in defense of the Constitution deserve the full protections of the First Amendment, including a free press. He said the newsroom would not compromise on providing accurate and balanced reporting or holding military leadership accountable when warranted.

The Pentagon’s move also drew criticism from press freedom advocacy groups. PEN America said it was alarmed that Pentagon officials would now exert direct control over the outlet’s content. Tim Richardson, the group’s disinformation program director, argued that American troops deserve credible, trustworthy news free from political influence, not messaging shaped by the administration.

Richardson said that as President Donald Trump pushes for increased defense spending and potential new military operations, independent reporting is more important than ever. He urged Congress to protect Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence.

The announcement follows a report by Washington Post that applicants for Stars and Stripes jobs were asked how they would support Trump’s policies. It also comes amid broader tensions between the administration and the press at the Pentagon. The Trump administration has imposed new restrictions on journalists working inside the Defense Department, prompting many reporters from legacy outlets to give up their workspace rather than agree to the new rules.

New York Times has sued the administration over those restrictions, arguing they unfairly limit press access. Together, the developments highlight a broader clash over media access, independence, and the role of the press inside the national security apparatus as the Pentagon signals a harder line on what it wants military-focused journalism to look like.