Iran Is the First War of the Social-Media Age. It’s a Black Box

Pete Hegseth calls on a reporter while answering questions during a press briefing at the Pentagon on March 19.Photographer: Win McNamee/Getty Images

It’s been half a century since the Vietnam War, when journalists had almost unrestricted access to the battlefield.

In the years since the fall of Saigon ended that first conflict of the television age, restrictions on press freedom have grown.