Reporter Quits U.S.-Based Outlet For 'Repeating State Narratives' And 'False Info'

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

Thornebrooke quit after the Epoch Times became one of the few U.S.-based outlets to agree to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s press restrictions ― which were rejected by HuffPost and major networks.

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

“I can no longer reconcile my role with the direction the paper 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.

Steve Heap via Getty Images

“The Epoch Times does not view the new guidelines for Pentagon press access as 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, does have a reporter with a Pentagon press pass.

Whitney Snyder, HuffPost’s editor-in-chief, wrote there was “no way in hell” HuffPost would sign the defense secretary’s “unconstitutional” document.

HuffPost has reached out to The Epoch Times for comment.