Washington, Sept. 20 (Agencies) — The Pentagon has imposed sweeping new restrictions on journalists covering the U.S. military, requiring reporters to sign affidavits pledging not to publish information unless formally authorized and limiting their access inside the Department of War.

The new guidelines, distributed to media on Friday (Sept. 19), state that reporters risk losing their press credentials if they fail to comply. The rules apply not only to classified information but also to “controlled unclassified information,” meaning even unclassified material attributed to unnamed officials may no longer be published.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the changes, writing on X: “The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon, the people do. The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules — or go home.”

The restrictions also bar reporters from freely moving within the Pentagon without official escorts, curtailing a long-standing practice of press access inside one of the world’s largest military headquarters.

Critics argue the new rules represent an alarming step back for press freedom. The New York Times described them as “yet another step in a concerning pattern of reducing access to what the U.S. military is undertaking at taxpayer expense.”

Mike Balsamo, president of the National Press Club, warned: “If the news about our military must first be approved by the government, then the public is no longer getting independent reporting. It is getting only what officials want them to see. That should alarm every American.”

The move follows months of controversy surrounding Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran, who was criticized for leaking details of U.S. airstrikes on Yemen’s Huthi rebels in private Signal group chats that inadvertently included journalists.

The Trump administration has increasingly clashed with the media, with the president himself suggesting that negative stories could be “illegal.” Observers say the Pentagon’s latest restrictions mark a significant escalation in the administration’s efforts to control narratives about military operations.