The State Department has ordered the cancellation of all news subscriptions deemed “non-mission critical,” according to internal email guidance viewed by The Washington Post. The move aligns with the Trump administration’s crackdown on media companies that count the U.S. government as paying customers.
A Feb. 11 memo sent to embassies and consulates in Europe described the mandate as part of an effort to reduce spending. The email read, in part, “Considering this priority, posts are asked to immediately place Stop Work Orders on all non-mission critical contracts/purchase orders for media subscriptions (publications, periodicals, and newspaper subscriptions) that are not academic or professional journals.”
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Embassy security teams rely on news coverage to prepare for diplomatic travel in conflict zones. The cancellation of subscriptions — including to local news outlets — could hinder their assessments of threats, the official said.
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A Friday memo directed procurement teams at embassies and consulates to prioritize the termination of contracts with six news organizations in particular: the Economist, the New York Times, Politico, Bloomberg News, the Associated Press and Reuters.
MSN
Pure spite. Those publications have not bent the knee to King Orange.
On a teleconference the day after the initial memo was sent, employees were given a presentation about the mandate, with one slide saying it was enacted “in support of the administration.”
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About a week before the Feb. 11 guidance went out, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the government was canceling subscription contracts with Politico, which had become a target of criticism among allies of the president, including Elon Musk, after users on X called attention to government contracts for Politico Pro subscriptions.
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State Department personnel were told that they could submit a request to maintain a news subscription but that it “must be done within 1 sentence.”
JFC. I suppose the DOGE boys can't read more than that. I guess it's lucky they didn't say pictures only.
The guidance laid out possible justifications — if the subscription affects the safety of U.S. personnel or facilities, or if it is required by treaty or law, or if it yields an affirmative answer to one of the following questions: “Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”
A State Department employee who received the memos and shared them with The Post expressed concern that terminating news subscriptions — particularly to local outlets — would deprive embassies and consulates of information necessary to complete their mission.
The regime is tightening the screws so that no one leaks to the press, meaning we won't be getting this kind of information in the future.
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