The White House urged journalists not to report on what appears to be leaked Pentagon classified documents circulating online.

John Kirby, the coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, made his case during the White House press briefing on Monday as the U.S. government scrambles to respond to what some suggest may be the largest breach of classified secrets since the Edward Snowden saga.

“Without confirming the validity of the documents, this is information that has no business in the public domain,” Kirby said from the podium after facing repeated questions about the documents.

“It has no business — if you don’t mind me saying — on the front pages of newspapers or on television,” he added. “It is not intended for public consumption and it should not be out there.”

John Kirby warns journalists not to report on leaked Pentagon documents.

"This is information that has no business in the public domain…It has no business…on the front pages of newspapers or on television." pic.twitter.com/625CxNIarI

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 10, 2023

The Pentagon released a statement on Sunday saying the Department of Defense (DoD) is working to assess the validity and national security impact of images that began popping up in recent weeks on social media, starting with Discord, showing what appears to be secret details about China, Russia’s war in Ukraine, surveillance efforts, and more. U.S. officials engaged with allies, partners, and Congress about the disclosure, the Pentagon added.

A U.S. defense official told The Washington Post many of the documents look like they were prepared for Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior military officials, but stressed these records would be available broadly to people with proper clearance.

The source of the apparent leak remains unclear, but the Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the matter following a referral from the DoD. Kirby, a retired Navy rear admiral who previously served as Pentagon spokesman, confirmed there is suspicion that at least some of the images of documents may have been doctored.

Q: "Do you believe the leak is contained? Are there more documents out there that have not been released publicly? Is this an ongoing threat?"

NSC Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby: "We don't know. We truly don't know." pic.twitter.com/QpPYXZyexS

— CSPAN (@cspan) April 10, 2023

On Sunday, Israel pushed back on alleged intelligence reported by The Washington Post that said the country’s Mossad intelligence agency encouraged protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial judicial reforms plan. “The report that was published overnight in the American press is mendacious and without any foundation whatsoever,” said the prime minister’s office in a Twitter post it claimed was on Mossad’s behalf.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP

President Joe Biden is staying briefed on the situation, Kirby said on Monday. Asked whether the suspected leak is contained and whether there is an ongoing threat, Kirby said, “We don’t know. We truly don’t know.”

Twitter is no longer branding National Public Radio (NPR) “state-sponsored media.”

Elon Musk’s Twitter changed the “state-sponsored media” label on NPR’s Twitter account to “government-funded media” on Saturday.

The social media giant initially slapped the “state-sponsored media” label on the radio news outlet on Tuesday, at which point NPR’s account stopped tweeting. NPR’s last tweet was a link to one of its own articles on Tuesday.

After Twitter’s move, NPR changed its Twitter bio to state that it is “an independent news organization committed to informing the public about the world around us.”

On Wednesday, NPR President and CEO John Lansing said he was “disturbed” by Twitter’s initial decision to label the outlet “state-sponsored media” and called the move “unacceptable.”

“NPR and our Member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide. NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable,” Lansing tweeted.

“It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy,” he added.

Twitter defines “state-affiliated media” as “outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP

NPR’s radio stations are partially funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a nonprofit funded by the federal government. The CPB also funds Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television stations.

However, CPB says NPR is “principally funded by member stations, distribution services, underwriting and institutional grants and individual contributions,” according to the CPB website.

“On average, less than 1% of NPR’s annual operating budget comes in the form of grants from CPB and federal agencies and departments,” NPR says.

NPR correspondent David Gura pointed out that Twitter apparently edited its policy to remove a reference to NPR as a media outlet that has “editorial independence.”

“Yesterday, @elonmusk’s Twitter labeled NPR ‘state-affiliated media,’ even though the company’s own policy stated the organization shouldn’t be labeled as such because it has editorial independence,” Gura tweeted on Wednesday.

The original “state-sponsored media” label given to NPR prompted comparisons to the “Russian state-affiliated media” label given to Russia Today’s Twitter account and the “China state-affiliated media” one given China’s Xinhua News.

By law, it is illegal for the U.S. government to exercise “any direction, supervision, or control over the content or distribution of public telecommunications programs and services,” according to the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.

Twitter has put the same “government-funded media” label on the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Twitter account.

The BBC quickly objected to the move.

“We are speaking to Twitter to resolve this issue as soon as possible. The BBC is, and always has been, independent. We are funded by the British public through the licence fee.”

“What does BBC stand for again? I keep forgetting,” Twitter owner Elon Musk quipped in a tweet.

On Wednesday, the White House chimed in defending NPR as independent from government influence.

“There’s no doubt of the independence of NPR’s journalists,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of their questions you know that they have their independence in journalism.”