The U.S. Ministry of National Defense (War Department) is facing expanding controversy over press control by the Donald Trump administration after it became known that it barred photojournalists from a press briefing because a photo that the defense minister did not like was published.
According to the Washington Post (WP), the U.S. Ministry of National Defense restricted the entry of photojournalists at follow-up briefings held at the Pentagon (defense ministry headquarters) on the 4th and on the 10th. According to defense ministry officials, only photojournalists affiliated with the Ministry of National Defense are currently authorized to shoot at the briefings.
Internal testimony says dissatisfaction from aides to Pete Hegseth, the defense minister, was behind the move. At a briefing on the 2nd, complaints were raised that a photo of Minister Hegseth was taken in an "unflattering" way, and, in retaliation, access for photojournalists was restricted.
The briefing in question was the first official occasion after the United States and Israel struck Iran on the 28th of last month, during which Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei died. On that day, Minister Hegseth took the Pentagon briefing room podium for the first time in about eight months since June 26 last year.
Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, attended the briefing, and major wire services including The Associated Press, Reuters and Getty Images dispatched photojournalists. Photos taken by wire services are typically distributed under license to media outlets worldwide and are widely used internationally.
However, after the photos were released, Hegseth's aides reportedly complained that "the minister looks bad."
The Ministry of National Defense, however, said the restriction on photojournalist access was due to space constraints. Kingsley Wilson, the defense ministry Spokesperson, said, "To use the briefing room space efficiently, outlets without access credentials are allowed to send one person each," and recommended, "If this poses a problem for some outlets' business models, apply for a Pentagon credential."
It is not the first time that Minister Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has clashed with the press. In October, the defense ministry asked Pentagon reporters to sign a pledge not to report on information not approved by the government, and in protest, dozens of reporters returned their badges en masse and left the building.
In this regard, the New York Times (NYT) and NYT reporter Julian Barnes filed a lawsuit against the government, saying the policy violated the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of the press and due process. The case is reportedly under consideration for summary judgment at a federal court in Washington.
After the mass departure, a number of new conservative-leaning reporters joined the Pentagon press corps, but Minister Hegseth is still seen as having conducted few on-camera briefings with the press corps.
Photojournalists are pushing back hard against the ministry's measures. The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), an American photojournalists' advocacy group, urged in a statement that the Ministry of National Defense immediately restore access for photojournalists.
Alex Garcia, NPPA president, criticized, "In a time of war, excluding photojournalists because a public official does not like their own pictures shows a complete misunderstanding of priorities," adding, "If the government allows only images favorable to public officials, a free press cannot function normally."