‘Mouthpieces for Trump’: inside the rightwing takeover of the Pentagon press corps
Pentagon press passes once held by credentialed journalists are now in the hands of rightwing pundits and Trump allies
Being a member of the Pentagon press corps was once one of the more prestigious assignments in US journalism, a position reserved for heavy hitters from venerable newspapers and news channels, reporters at the peak of their powers.
Not any more. A press conference last week – held at a crucial time for a Pentagon embroiled in scandal – was instead attended by more than a dozen rightwing activists, with the government being held to account by a close ally of Donald Trump, an employee at Turning Point USA and someone from a pillow salesman’s nascent media company.
Related Knowledge Center: The White House vs. the press
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Democracy and politics | Signalgate | The CBS submission | Voiceless America
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In an increasingly fractured media landscape, truth has been a casualty in the public discussion. Coverage has been warped by the business needs of struggling news organizations, and a significant segment of the public relies on bad-faith outlets that are little more than propagandists. While fact-checking has become routine, some organizations are exploring other ways to combat the trends. And misinformation spewed by AI-driven chatbots has become more of a feature than simply a bug.
Fact-checking and its detractors
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