The Pentagon fired the publisher and editor in chief of Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper that is supposed to maintain editorial independence from the very department it covers. Middle East reporter Lara Korte was fired too. Editor Erik Slavin says his termination notice accused him of “insubordination” after he told CBS that Pentagon censorship of accurate reporting would be a red line.
The timing deserves attention. Stars and Stripes has been reporting extensively on the realities military families and service members are facing during the prolonged war with Iran, including difficult conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during its nearly nine-month deployment. Those reports raised concerns about sailors’ mental health and conditions aboard the carrier, claims that Trump and Pentagon leadership publicly pushed back against.
Now, the people responsible for protecting the newsroom’s independence are being fired. A government-funded military newspaper is not supposed to become a Pentagon PR operation simply because its reporting makes leadership uncomfortable!
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