The Trump Administration's Pentagon Press Purge: A Prelude to Authoritarianism
The Convergence of Media Suppression, Far-Right Influence, and Strategic Disinformation
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Introduction
Over the last few weeks, the newly confirmed Secretary of Defense has kicked off his culture war at the Pentagon in ways that have had immediate impacts on the lives of millions servicemembers and their families. In addition to robbing students in military schools of the opportunities that once came with a more complete and fact-based education, he's also prioritizing exactly what you'd expect of a former Fox News host: setting up a state-sponsored propaganda machine that's meant to pull the wool over Americans' eyes and punish journalists who publish truthful, high-impact reporting on the United States government's largest department. Following a hastily-issued Friday night memo from the Pentagon’s new Press Secretary John Ullyot earlier this month, February 14 was the deadline for some of the nation's most respected journalistic institutions to vacate their office space at the Pentagon.
Meanwhile, the Vice President of the United States went to Munich to chastise Europeans on the importance of free speech—an astounding display of hypocrisy given the administration's ongoing efforts to silence dissent, punish critical journalists, and manipulate the flow of information in the United States.
The Trump administration’s transformation of the Pentagon Press Corps is not merely about restructuring media access; it is a calculated effort to control the flow of information and marginalize independent journalism. By expelling established outlets and replacing them with ideologically aligned propagandists, the administration is implementing a strategy reminiscent of historical autocratic regimes. The consequences extend beyond the Pentagon, reflecting a broader push to centralize control over the national discourse, weaken democratic institutions, and strengthen far-right international alliances.
The Role of Vance & Musk: Normalizing Global Far-Right Alliances
Vice President JD Vance and Shadow President Elon Musk have actively endorsed Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, lending it unwarranted credibility on the global stage. Their attacks on the NATO consensus that Nazis should never be given a platform, as reported by The New York Times, signals a concerning shift in U.S. foreign policy—one that aligns our country with nationalist movements hostile to democratic principles. By embracing far-right ideologies abroad, Vance and Musk are fostering transnational authoritarian networks that serve to embolden reactionary agendas both in the United States and Europe.
Their recent interventions in Germany’s elections and their support for the extremist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party—a group that has downplayed Hitler’s atrocities and has had members arrested for terrorist plots—are fueling fears of a transatlantic authoritarian alliance.
Musk was a special guest speaker at the AfD's recent convention, and has claimed that Germans have “too much of a focus on past guilt,” saying that they need to move beyond memories of the Holocaust.
Vance met with AfD leader Alice Weidel during his Munich trip, offering tacit U.S. support for a party that Germany’s domestic intelligence agency has classified as a threat to democracy.
Both men have attacked Germany’s speech laws, which were designed to prevent the return of Nazi propaganda, calling them “oppressive” and “Soviet-style censorship.”
Vance argued that Europe’s restrictions on hate speech are more dangerous than Russia or China, aligning himself with far-right leaders who see democratic guardrails as obstacles to their power.
Germany’s leaders, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz, have forcefully condemned these comments, warning that Musk and Vance are deliberately undermining the post-WWII democratic order.
"Never again fascism, never again racism, never again aggressive war. That is why an overwhelming majority in our country opposes anyone who glorifies or justifies criminal National Socialism," Scholz said.
He further emphasized that Germany remains committed to defending democratic norms and will not be swayed by outside forces attempting to rewrite history. Those most familiar with the horrors of Nazi rule recognize that Vance and his ilk’s rhetoric is not about freedom of speech—it’s part of a calculated effort to normalize extremist ideology under the guise of political discourse.
The Press Purge: Strategic Media Manipulation
The administration’s removal of experienced journalists from the Pentagon Press Corps’ office space is part of a calculated strategy to consolidate information control. Reputable outlets such as The New York Times, NPR, and NBC News have been evicted, making way for hyper-partisan platforms like Breitbart, One America News Network (OANN), and the New York Post. As the seasoned war correspondent Barbara Starr explains in the Columbia Journalism Review, this shift prioritizes political loyalty over press integrity, setting a dangerous precedent for government-controlled narratives.
This campaign against legitimate journalism is not limited to the Pentagon. The White House Press Corps has undergone similar purges, sidelining critical voices while providing unprecedented access to far-right propagandists. A particularly egregious example is what is happening to the Associated Press, which is facing punitive measures for refusing to adopt the administration’s nationalist rebranding of the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America.” Such demands reflect a broader authoritarian impulse—one that seeks to rewrite reality itself through enforced compliance with state-approved messaging. The control of language has long been a critical tool of authoritarian regimes. From Nazi Germany’s Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, which dictated acceptable terminology and suppressed dissenting narratives, to the Soviet Union’s enforcement of state-approved rhetoric, regimes have understood that controlling the words people use shapes how they think. Similarly, the Trump administration’s attempt to dictate terminology is an effort to manipulate public perception and enforce ideological conformity, rather than promote genuine discourse.
The language used by the Associated Press (AP) is especially significant because it adheres to strict journalistic standards, prioritizing accuracy, neutrality, and factual reporting. The AP's word choices shape public discourse, influence other news outlets, and establish widely accepted terminology.
Today the White House is manufacturing a controversy over an Executive Order attempting to rename the Gulf of Mexico, a clear test of its ability to impose ideological dictates. Tomorrow, we should expect a more aggressive and harmful attempt to enforce authoritarian narratives, targeting marginalized communities and critical press outlets alike. Judging by Republican politicians’ insistence on deadnaming and misgendering their trans colleagues during official legislative business, I expect the Trump Administration to soon move on to punishing the press for not adhering to their anti-science Executive Order on sex and gender.
Beyond restricting press access to our government, Trump was able to weaponize the presidency before he was sworn in for his second term against both major news outlets and social media companies. As a candidate, he filed several frivolous against news outlets and the world’s largest social media corporation—cases that experts in First Amendment protections said wouldn’t survive a trial. Since his electoral victory, companies from ABC to Meta have conceded without a fight, giving Trump tens of millions of dollars in settlements out of fear of government retaliation. These tactics not only serve to enrich Trump personally but also further embolden Trump’s allies, who now have good reason to believe that their own campaigns of legal harassment against journalism would be successful. These media billionaires “obey[ing] in advance” has the effect of cultivating a culture of self-censorship among media organizations who can't afford costly legal bills of retaliation.
Jack Posobiec & Pentagon Disinformation: A Propaganda Pipeline
With the flurry of chaos coming from the Trump Administration, you might have missed that Jack Posobiec, a far-right propagandist and Navy veteran with documented ties to white nationalists, Russian intelligence-backed disinformation campaigns, and extremist militias, was invited to travel with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his first overseas trip.
Who is Jack Posobiec?
John Michael Posobiec III, who goes by Jack, is not just another MAGA influencer—he is a prolific disinformation agent whose work has played a significant role in destabilizing American democracy and amplifying propaganda from hostile foreign powers. His history includes:
Amplifying Russian military intelligence operations, including the Seth Rich conspiracy theory and #MacronLeaks, which aimed to manipulate democratic elections in the U.S. and France.
Working as a key figure in the ‘Stop the Steal’ campaign with Roger Stone, pushing election fraud lies that directly fueled the January 6 insurrection.
Deep ties to white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and extremist militias, having collaborated with figures like Richard Spencer, Gavin McInnes, and the Proud Boys.
Promoting the Pizzagate conspiracy, which led to an armed gunman storming a Washington, D.C., pizzeria under false pretenses.
Calling for the ‘end of democracy’ at CPAC, stating, “We didn’t get all the way there on Jan. 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it.”
He was once fired from his role as the “Washington Bureau Chief” of a Canadian alt-right propaganda outlet for plagiarizing one of the chief architects of the deadly Unite the Right neo-Nazi riot in Charlottesville (SPLC).
The selection of Jack Posobiec as a favored Pentagon-approved media figure underscores this administration’s embrace of what is effectively state-sponsored disinformation. Posobiec, a longtime purveyor of dangerous conspiracy theories based in racism, anti-Jewish hate, and election denial, has been granted privileged access to Secretary Hegseth, allowing him to launder propaganda under the guise of journalism.
Posobiec’s extremist ties have been exhaustively documented in the Southern Poverty Law Center's Extremist Files, and which I encourage you to read when you have time.
The historical playbook for authoritarians' use of peddlers of racist and anti-Jewish propaganda is well-documented. In Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels mastered the use of mass media to manufacture consent and demonize political adversaries. The Soviet Union similarly employed state propagandists to obscure governmental failures and justify authoritarian crackdowns. Today, Vladimir Putin relies on figures like Dmitry Kiselyov to craft revisionist histories and amplify anti-democratic narratives. The Trump administration’s reliance on Posobiec, in addition to outlets like Breitbart and OANN, mirrors these models, transforming Pentagon communications into an instrument of ideological warfare.
By being able to position himself as an insider with “exclusive” government information, Posobiec—who lost his security clearance while he was serving as a Navy reservist and defense contractor during the first Trump Administration—will foster an even larger, more radicalized audience that rejects independent reporting. This dynamic undermines trust in credible journalism while consolidating the administration’s ability to dictate public perception—an essential step in dismantling democratic accountability.
Hegseth’s Ukraine Concessions: The Authoritarian Playbook
During this overseas trip, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tipped the Trump Administration’s hand about their willingness to make territorial concessions to Vladimir Putin. This marks a dramatic departure from established U.S. foreign policy, and the post-World War II norm of denying the legitimacy of the use of warfare to expand a nation's borders. His statements, as detailed in The Washington Post, signal an acceptance of Russian expansionism that undermines NATO’s collective security framework. China has no doubt taken notice, which threatens the future of our allies throughout the entirety of the Asia-Pacific region. Beijing may interpret this shift as a green light to escalate its territorial ambitions in the South China Sea, increase military pressure on Taiwan, and further cement its influence over regional partners through economic and diplomatic coercion.
Authoritarian regimes frequently use territorial disputes to test the resolve of democratic alliances. In the lead-up to World War II, appeasement strategies emboldened Hitler’s expansionist ambitions, culminating in the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia and the invasion of Poland. Similarly, Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 was met with limited resistance (a tremendous failure of the Obama Administration, followed by tacit support from the first Trump White House), reinforcing his belief that further incursions into Ukraine would be tolerated. Hegseth’s posture toward Ukraine echoes these historical patterns, positioning the United States as a passive enabler of authoritarian aggression.
The administration’s pro-Russian shift extends beyond diplomacy—it is reflected in the Pentagon’s evolving strategic priorities. The removal of independent journalists, the elevation of far-right propagandists, and the administration’s rhetorical alignment with Kremlin narratives suggest a fundamental realignment of U.S. defense policy toward an isolationist, authoritarian-friendly stance.
Historical Context: Lessons from Past Authoritarianism
The warning signs of democratic backsliding are unmistakable. As Timothy Snyder cautions in On Tyranny, authoritarian regimes rely on media manipulation, political intimidation, and the erosion of institutional independence to consolidate power. Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s Strongmen further illustrates how populist autocrats deploy propaganda networks to suppress dissent and cultivate a loyalist base resistant to factual reporting.
The systematic sidelining of independent media from the Pentagon and White House, coupled with the elevation of ideologically driven disinformation agents, is a textbook example of authoritarian consolidation. These tactics are not incidental—they are designed to delegitimize dissent, obscure governmental failures, and create an alternative information ecosystem where truth is dictated by political loyalty rather than empirical reality.
Conclusion: A Call to Action
This is not speculation. This is not theoretical. Collusion with overseas fascist movements, the elevation of extremist media operatives, and the administration’s coordinated assault on the press are happening in real time. If unchecked, these developments will accelerate the erosion of democratic governance and embolden a global authoritarian movement.
Here’s what you can do:
Support independent journalism: Subscribe to and fund outlets committed to truth and accountability. Consider a donation to NPR, ProPublica, or other nonprofit news outlets that bring you critical information. Beyond donations or paying for subscriptions, there are other meaningful things you can do to support these outlets that cost you only a few clicks: interacting with their online posts by “liking” and commenting, subscribing to their free newsletters, and sharing their work with your network. All of those small things can help to indirectly boost their revenue.
Disrupt the propaganda pipeline: Posobiec and other extremists having proximity to the Pentagon and the White House presents a vulnerability that you can exploit. When a reasonable person in your life—someone who doesn’t know Posobiec’s background—inadvertently shares his propaganda, you can make that a learning experience. Share with them some of what you’ve learned from the SPLC’s Extremist Files to discredit Posobiec and the administration that welcomes Nazi collaborators like him, and help that person find information from a more reputable source.
Organize against authoritarianism: Engage with pro-democracy organizations that are mobilizing to protect institutional integrity and press freedom. Keep an eye on Veterans Fighting Fascism’s Antifascist Book Club webpage, because we’ll soon be publishing a how-to guide and additional support materials for Book Club Leaders. This will include sample meeting agendas, discussion questions, and action-items to help you and your crew get started.
Democracies don’t collapse overnight—they erode through sustained attacks on transparency, accountability, and truth. The question is not whether this administration is pursuing an authoritarian agenda. The question is whether we have what it takes to go on offense and fight for the values we hold dear.
Thank you for the work you do. I’m a retired, gay former federal law enforcement officer with a trans son. I’m also an American who swore to defend the Constitution. Your work is vital. You offer concise evidence and detailed analysis. Thanks again.
Really important information!! Thank you. I will repost and tell all in my new book club.