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In days After kidnapping Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, members of the New Right at the Pentagon Influential Press Corps We did not report on the operation and instead, they were enforcing loyalty in a manner similar to the Iraq War bloggers of the early 2000s.
on monday, Laura Lemire I tried to gather information on Pentagon press officials who might have leaked information to the mainstream media. “The White House account better prepare a sick amendment,” said Cam Higbee, a right-wing influencer and member of the Pentagon press corps. Written on the morning of Saturday the 10thWith news of Maduro’s arrest. She chose Monica Page, a reporter for Turning Point USA To hit Former Biden administration reposts Joe Biden’s 2020 post about Trump’s admiration for dictators with the infamous photo of a blindfolded Maduro. Joey Mannarino, an influencer with over 650,000 followers on X, I spent Sunday discussing Whether to support Vice President J.D. Vance or Marco Rubio as president in 2028.
All of these influencers were granted press credentials at the Pentagon in November after the Pentagon rolled out a new press policy that prevents journalists from easily accessing information that the Department of Defense — which the department calls the War Department — does not provide to them. Most major media outlets — including ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News — refused to sign it, leading to an exodus of military reporters from the ranks of the Pentagon’s official press corps. Weeks later, the Pentagon replaced them with Trump-friendly influencers from organizations like Turning Point USA, as well as independent creators like Tim Pool, Right-wing political commentator.
The new press team received only one formal briefing from Defense Department Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson, who used the moment to attack the old guard journalists who had left. Before joining the Pentagon, Wilson Play digital media For the Center for Renewing America, a pro-Trump think tank.
“The legacy media has chosen to move out of this building.” Wilson said. “We will not beg these old guards to come back, and we are not rebuilding a broken model to appease them. Instead, we welcome new media outlets that actually reach Americans.”
Clearly, this model was not about journalism or access to information. So far, the Pentagon’s crew of right-wing influencers has not provided any new information regarding the raid in Venezuela. Many of them, including Higbee, have turned their attention to alleged child welfare fraud in Minnesota, chasing the same story told by right-wing creator Nick Shirley. Claimed to reveal In a viral YouTube video last week. (Local Minnesota Outlets We’ve been covering this story for years.)
This moment seems reminiscent of the early days of the Iraq War, as pro-war bloggers promised a similarly unfettered alternative to mainstream coverage. These bloggers built entire audiences by attacking writers in the mainstream press and other independent blogs who criticized the war, and promoted narratives that supported the US invasion of Iraq. In the days since Maduro’s arrest, content creators like Lancevideos, who are part of the Pentagon’s official press corps, have called out congressional critics like Thomas Massie. “Alcoholic drinks” For criticizing the process. that it He went on to call for additional raids Also, writing “Could Iran Be Next? US Kidnapping Wave Must Continue” on X.
So far, none of these newly credentialed journalists at the Pentagon appear to have reported any real news about the raid or even received a single briefing on the matter. Instead, they created countless memes and posts blindly supporting the operation, which is likely why the Pentagon launched it in the first place.