Journalist leaves US media outlet in protest of accepting Pete Hegseth’s press restrictions

National security reporter Andrew Thornebrooke resigned from The Epoch Times because the right-wing newspaper regurgitated “state narratives,” dispensed “false information” and manipulated stories to “shape our readers’ worldview,” he wrote in a resignation email revealed by The New York Times on Sunday.

Thornebrooke resigned after The Epoch Times became one of the few US-based outlets to accept press restrictions imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which were rejected by News themezone and the major networks.

Thornebrooke, who did not have an active Pentagon pass but did report from the complex frequently, chastised The Epoch Times for deciding to “abdicate our responsibility as journalists in favor of simply repeating state narratives,” the Times reported.

“I can no longer reconcile my role with the direction the newspaper has chosen, including its increasing willingness to promote partisan materials, publish demonstrably false information and manipulate the reporting of its ground staff to shape the worldview of our readers,” Thornebrooke wrote.

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“The Epoch Times does not consider the Pentagon’s new press access guidelines to be an impediment to our reporting,” editor-in-chief Jasper Fakkert wrote in a statement Friday.

The Epoch Times, which has ties to the Falun Gong sect, has a reporter with a Pentagon press pass.

Whitney Snyder, editor-in-chief of News themezone, wrote that there was “no way in hell” News themezone would sign off on the defense secretary’s “unconstitutional” document.

News themezone has contacted The Epoch Times for comment.