This was highlighted by veteran war correspondent Don North in August 2015, with his primary focus on journalists reporting on military operations, but it brings up a serious concern of the allowable use of propaganda by the U.S. government as part of their strategic communications,"merging psy-ops, propaganda and P.R. in order to manage the perceptions of Americans and the world's public."

"Reporting on military operations can be very similar to collecting intelligence or even spying," the manual says, calling on journalists to "act openly and with the permission of relevant authorities." The manual notes that governments "may need to censor journalists' work or take other security measures so that journalists do not reveal sensitive information to the enemy."