The editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes, Erik Slavin, has expressed concerns about censorship after being dismissed by the US Department of Defense (DoD) for alleged insubordination. Slavin, who had worked for the military newspaper for 21 years, believes his termination stems from an interview where he stated that censorship would be a red line in a hypothetical situation.
Slavin told a news outlet that he had not received an official explanation for his dismissal and was considering his response, despite not being allowed to appeal. He noted that Pentagon officials appear less inclined to speak on the record and that the Pentagon has not held a press conference since May. He also questioned if his firing was related to the paper’s reporting on conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, a warship deployed in the Gulf for over 240 days during the US-Israeli war with Iran. Family members of sailors on the vessel have raised concerns about mental health, with some reports of sailors attempting to jump overboard.
Lara Korte, the newspaper’s Middle East reporter, also stated she was fired for insubordination, linking her dismissal to the same interview. Publisher Max Lederer was also reportedly fired, having announced his retirement earlier, citing fundamental differences with the Pentagon’s plans for the publication. The Pentagon declined to comment on the sackings.
The dismissals occur amidst heightened tension between the Trump administration and the US media. Stars and Stripes, though partially funded by the Pentagon, maintains editorial independence through a congressional mandate and DoD rules. An average of 1.4 million people consume the paper’s content daily, mostly online, with physical copies still printed for military members in areas with unreliable internet access.
In October, leading US news outlets, including major national and international organizations, rejected a new DoD policy that barred journalists from entering the building unless they exclusively reported officially authorized information. The Trump administration defended these changes as necessary for national security. Earlier, in April 2025, a US judge ordered the administration to restore a major wire service’s access to presidential events after a dispute over terminology. Months prior, the White House also broke tradition by taking control of the press pool covering the US presidency.
The president of the National Press Club, Mark Schoeff Jr., called Slavin’s firing another brazen attempt by the Pentagon to dictate military coverage and urged its immediate reversal. Korte, in a social media post, lamented the situation as a shame for the institution and service members who deserve a free and independent press.