Miami, August 25, 2026—The Pentagon is acting
directly against government transparency
and press freedom by firing the longtime publisher, the editor-in-chief, and a senior reporter at Stars and Stripes newspaper, said the Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday.
CPJ calls on Congress to codify Stars and Stripes’ editorial independence by supporting a proposal in the
Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act
that, if passed, would protect the outlet from censorship, propaganda, and Pentagon interference.
“The brazen firing of senior Stars and Stripes staffers raises serious concerns over how far the Pentagon is willing to go to control the narrative surrounding military actions and spending,” said Jose Zamora, CPJ’s regional director for the Americas. “Journalists covering U.S. military action must be free to report in the public interest without fear of government retaliation. The Pentagon should respect Stars and Stripes’ long-held editorial independence and allow reporters to do their jobs.”
Multiple
outlets
reported that the Pentagon dismissed Stars and Stripes publisher Max Lederer, Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin, and Middle East correspondent Lara Korte on August 21 after they spoke in favor of the newspaper’s long-held editorial independence from the Department of Defense, which
partly
funds the outlet.
The Pentagon’s firing of Stars and Stripes staffers follows larger attempts by the Defense Department, under the direction of Secretary Pete Hegseth, to
control reporting
on U.S. military action days after the outlet reported deteriorating
living conditions aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln
amid a prolonged deployment in the Middle East.
In April,
outlets
reported
that the Pentagon fired Stars and Stripes ombudsman and editorial independence steward Jacqueline Smith after Hegseth declared that he would exert editorial control over the newspaper to eliminate “woke distractions.” Sean Parnell, Hegseth’s
