Pentagon Silences Journalists Defending Press Freedom at Stars & Stripes
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
The Department of Defense has fired Stars & Stripes editor Erik Slavin and Middle East reporter Lara Korte, a move widely seen as retaliation for their defense of the paper’s editorial independence against mounting military interference.
The Pentagon has ousted Erik Slavin, editor-in-chief of Stars & Stripes, and Middle East reporter Lara Korte, in what many view as a blatant attack on press freedom within the military. Slavin revealed to the Associated Press that these terminations followed the newspaper’s public defense of its right to operate free from Pentagon control.
"I stand by the principle that Stars & Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department’s own policies," Slavin asserted, highlighting the legal and ethical obligations being trampled by the Defense Department.
Slavin’s dismissal came after he dared to speak out in a CBS interview, warning that any censorship of news for service members would cross a "red line." The Pentagon’s crackdown also swept up Max Lederer, the longtime publisher, despite his planned retirement.
Stars & Stripes, though funded by the Pentagon, has historically maintained editorial autonomy—a principle now under siege. In January, a Pentagon spokesperson declared the paper would be refocused on “warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and all things military,” effectively purging so-called “woke distractions” and narrowing the scope of coverage to fit a militaristic agenda.
Earlier this year, the Pentagon dismissed the paper’s ombudsman and installed a Navy captain as deputy publisher without even consulting the publisher, further eroding checks on military overreach. The Society of Professional Journalists and three Democratic senators have sounded the alarm, warning that these actions threaten the very foundation of independent reporting.
"Stars & Stripes cannot fulfill its mission if its journalists or newsroom leaders must worry that independent reporting could bring retaliation from the officials they cover," said SPJ president Chris Vaccaro, exposing the chilling effect of Pentagon intimidation.
The senators’ letter to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth condemned what they called a “degradation” of the newspaper’s independence, demanding answers for this assault on journalistic integrity.