US FCC chief faces backlash over 'fake news' warning on Iran war coverage
The Federal Communications Commission chief Brendan Carr warns broadcasters could risk losing their licences over 'fake' Iran war coverage as critics, including Elizabeth Warren and Anna Gomez, raise free speech concerns.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr has warned that US broadcasters could risk losing their licenses if they air what he described as “fake news” about the US-Israel war in Iran.
Carr’s remarks came after criticism from US President Donald Trump, who accused media outlets of biased coverage.
Writing on Truth Social over the weekend, Trump said, “I am so thrilled to see Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), looking at the licenses of some of these corrupt and highly unpatriotic ‘news’ organizations.”
The comments have sparked backlash from Democrats and media advocates. WTVR CBS 6 News reported that Senator Elizabeth Warren accused the administration of attempting to suppress free speech, saying: “This threat is straight out of the authoritarian playbook.”
Anna Gomez, the FCC’s lone Democratic commissioner, has also previously opposed Carr’s stance.
In remarks made in September, she had said, "This FCC does not have the authority, the ability, or the constitutional right to police content or punish broadcasters for speech the government dislikes. Free speech is the foundation of our democracy, and we must push back against any attempt to erode it."
"Early-renewal attempts are exceedingly rare, and the process is so demanding that any effort would almost certainly fail, especially given the well-documented First Amendment violations underlying these moves," she said on Monday.
She added: "The FCC can issue threats all day long, but it is powerless to carry them out."
The FCC, an independent US federal agency, issues eight-year licences to individual broadcast stations.
The FCC has not revoked a broadcast TV station licence in more than 40 years.
According to the FCC's website, the next broadcast licences come up for renewal in October 2028, but Carr said he could accelerate the reviews.
Carr has repeatedly said broadcasters must operate in the public interest and has faced criticism from Democrats, who say he wants to use the public-interest standard to remove content that Trump does not like.