Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell ripped into legacy media on Sunday, accusing outlets of fueling the “Iranian propaganda machine” because they were so desperate to smear President Donald Trump that they were willing to accept any collateral damage that followed — even if the majority of the damage landed on American service members.
Parnell showcased a headline from The Washington Post that cast doubt on the success of the recent strikes carried out by American service members against Iranian nuclear sites — strikes that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump, backed by multiple intelligence sources, had declared to be unqualified successes.
“The mainstream media is engaging in a weaponized smear campaign against America & our incredible troops. The Fake News are knowingly using incomplete, out-of-context & flat-out false intelligence ‘assessments’ to seemingly do the bidding of the Iranian propaganda machine,” Parnell posted along with a screenshot of The Washington Post’s story. “This isn’t journalism, it’s political activism.”
The screenshot he shared read, “Breaking News: U.S. intelligence obtained private communication among Iranian officials, discussing this month’s military strikes on Iran’s nuclear program and remarking that the attack was less devastating than they expected.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took a similar tone at the press conference he held late last week, sharing detailed information about the strikes and whether or not the intended targets had been “obliterated” before he turned on the media.