FCC chair threatens to throttle news broadcasts over ‘hoaxes’ about Iran war | Trump administration

The Trump administration’s communications licensing czar fired a warning shot at the U.S. broadcast industry on Saturday, threatening to cancel broadcasters’ spectrum licenses by encouraging what he called “hoaxes and distortions of information.”

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr posted on social media that broadcasters broadcasting “fake news – now have the opportunity to correct the situation before their license is renewed. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and if they do not, they will lose their license.”

The FCC controls the electromagnetic spectrum, colloquially called the airwaves, including “commercial and noncommercial fixed and mobile wireless services, television and radio, satellite services, and others” under the Communications Act of 1934.

Carr’s warning comes amid sustained complaints from Trump and members of the administration about the treatment by what he derisively calls “the mainstream media” and what he sees as unflattering or unpatriotic coverage of the conflict in Iran.

In his post, Carr copied a Truth Social article from Trump complaining about “misleading” coverage on Iran.

“Once again, an intentionally misleading headline from the fake media about the five air tankers allegedly shot down at an airport in Saudi Arabia that are no longer of any use,” Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social.

Trump pointed the finger at the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, claiming that they “and other ‘newspapers’ and Lowlife media outlets actually want us to lose the war,” calling those media outlets’ reporting “the exact opposite of the actual facts!”

“These are truly sick, demented people who have no idea the damage they are causing to the United States of America,” he added.

Trump’s comments came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, accused of being coy about his media portrayals and attempting to restrict the Pentagon’s accredited journalists, blasted media coverage of the conflict.

Hegseth offered a lengthy dissection Friday of what he called “fake news” in relation to reporting on U.S.-Israeli action in Iran.

“Some people on this team, in the press, just can’t stop. Let me make a few suggestions. People watch TV and see banners, they see headlines. I’ve been in this business. And I know it’s all written intentionally,” he said.

Hegseth singled out headlines reading “Middle East war intensifies” alongside images of civilian or energy targets hit by Iran.

“How about ‘Iran increasingly desperate’? he said.

Hegseth then referenced the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN’s parent company, by Paramount Skydance, owned by multi-billionaire Larry Ellison and his son David Ellison. “The sooner David Ellison takes over this network, the better,” Hegseth said.

In his first interview as Paramount CEO last week, Ellison pledged support for editorial independence at CNN, where staff have expressed concern about the change in ownership and the potential implications for its editorial position.

“CNN is an incredible brand with an incredible team,” Ellison said, “and we absolutely believe in the independence that needs to be maintained, obviously, for these incredible journalists, and we want to support that going forward.”

In his post on Saturday, Carr said, without any evidence, that this was in “the news industry’s own commercial interests, since trust in traditional media has now fallen to an all-time low of just 9% and is a ratings disaster.”

He said he could use access to broadcasting and communications spectrum, considered a public good, to remedy the problem, creating a potential new conflict between the government and the media.

“The American people have subsidized broadcasters to the tune of billions of dollars by providing free access to the nation’s airwaves,” Carr wrote. “It is very important to restore confidence in the media, which has earned the label of fake news.”

Carr also raised an archival complaint about media reporting on the 2024 election, which largely predicted a Democratic presidential victory when in fact the Republican candidate — Trump — won a majority of the popular vote.

“When a political candidate manages to achieve a landslide election victory despite hoaxes and distortions, there is something seriously wrong,” Carr said. “This means that the public has lost confidence in the media.”