A large number of American and international media outlets, including The New York Times, Fox News, AP, and AFP, have refused to sign a Pentagon document establishing restrictive measures for the press, at the risk of losing their accreditation.
"Agence France-Presse cannot accept the terms set out in a Pentagon document that requires media outlets to sign new, vague conditions for access to information that appear contrary to American constitutional principles and basic rules of journalism.
We call on the Pentagon to review these conditions.
The new restrictions proposed in this document go against the foundations of journalistic work and undermine the rights provided for in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
AFP cannot subscribe to a policy that requires journalists to set aside their professional independence and impartiality when reporting on an institution as important as the Pentagon.
We must continue to cover the Pentagon and the American military freely and honestly, as we have for decades."