{"id":47215,"date":"2026-03-16T10:43:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T17:43:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=47215"},"modified":"2026-03-16T10:43:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T17:43:05","slug":"trumps-fcc-chair-threatens-to-pull-broadcast-licenses-over-negative-iran-war-coverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/03\/16\/trumps-fcc-chair-threatens-to-pull-broadcast-licenses-over-negative-iran-war-coverage\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s FCC Chair Threatens to Pull Broadcast Licenses Over Negative Iran War Coverage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"FCC<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government at the Rayburn House Office Building on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Photo by John McDonnell\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBrendan Carr is threatening the media to cover the war the way the Trump regime wants. It\u2019s one of the most anti-American messages ever posted by a government official,\u201d one news network said.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Olivia Rosane<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mar 14, 2026 (CommonDreams.org)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a move one administration critic described as \u201cfragrantly unconstitutional,\u201d Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr wrote a post on social media<\/a> on Saturday that appeared to threaten the broadcast license of any media outlet that reported information concerning President Donald Trump\u2019s war on Iran that the president did not like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBroadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions\u2014also known as the fake news\u2014have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not,\u201d Carr\u2019s message began<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECOMMENDED…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"US<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Trump Floats \u2018Charges for Treason\u2019 Against Media Outlets Over Iran War Coverage<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"US-POLITICS-CONGRESS-DEMOCRATS\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As Trump Marches US Toward Iran War, Critics Ask: Where\u2019s the \u2018Pushback\u2019 From Dems and Media?<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Carr also shared a screenshot of a Trump post on Truth Social complaining<\/a> about \u201cFake News Media\u201d coverage of five US Air Force refueling planes that were reportedly hit and damaged<\/a> in an Iranian missile strike on Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe[is] is the federal government telling news stations to provide favorable coverage of the war or their licenses will be pulled,\u201d wrote<\/a> Sen. Chris Murphy<\/a> (D-Conn.) on social media in response to the post. \u201cA truly extraordinary moment. We aren\u2019t on the verge of a totalitarian takeover. WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT. Act like it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several other media professionals, free speech<\/a> advocates, and Democratic politicians understood Carr\u2019s post as a threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe truth is this war has been a failure of historic proportions. They don\u2019t want Americans to know that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe FCC<\/a> is threatening the licenses of news stations that report on the effects of Iranian attacks on the American military,\u201d wrote<\/a> journalist S\u00e9amus Malekafzali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bulwark economics editor Catherine Rampell wrote<\/a>, \u201cFCC Chair Brendan Carr threatens broadcast licenses over Iran War coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journalist Sam Stein posted<\/a>, \u201cThe state doesn\u2019t like the war coverage, threatens the license of the broadcasters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent news network MediasTouch wrote<\/a>: \u201cBrendan Carr is threatening the media to cover the war the way the Trump regime wants. It\u2019s one of the most anti-American messages ever posted by a government official.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe truth is this war has been a failure of historic proportions. They don\u2019t want Americans to know that,\u201d the group continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is worse than the comedian stuff, and by a lot. The stakes here are much higher. He\u2019s not talking about late night shows, he\u2019s talking about how a war is covered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several pointed out that such a threat would be in violation of the First Amendment<\/a> of the US Constitution<\/a>, which guarantees freedom of speech and of the press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConstitutional law 101: It\u2019s illegal for the government to censor free speech it just doesn\u2019t like about Trump\u2019s Iran war,\u201d Sen. Elizabeth Warren<\/a> (D-Mass.) posted<\/a> on social media. \u201cThis threat is straight out of the authoritarian playbook.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Mark Kelly<\/a> (D-Ariz.), who has faced scrutiny<\/a> from the administration for advising service members to disobey illegal orders, wrote<\/a>: \u201cWhen our nation is at war it is critical that the press is free to report without government interference. It is literally in the Constitution. This is overreach by the FCC because this administration doesn\u2019t like the microscope and doesn\u2019t want to be held accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

California Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/a> wrote<\/a>, \u201cIf Trump doesn\u2019t like your coverage of the war, his FCC will pull your broadcast license. That is flagrantly unconstitutional.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aaron Terr, the director of public advocacy at the Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression, said<\/a>: \u201cThe president\u2019s hand-picked misinformation czar is at it again, singling out \u2018fake news\u2019 that conflicts with his boss\u2019 political agenda. The First Amendment doesn\u2019t allow the government to censor information about the war it\u2019s waging.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Free Press senior director of strategy and communications Timothy Karr responded<\/a> to Carr with a screenshot of the First Amendment and the words: \u201cHere it is\u2014as it seems you\u2019ve forgotten what you swore an oath to \u2018support and defend.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is not the first time that Carr has been accused of putting his loyalty to Trump over his duty to the Constitution. In September, he pressured<\/a> ABC to take comedian Jimmy Kimmel off the air over remarks Kimmel had made following the murder of Charlie Kirk<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While ABC eventually reinstated<\/a> Kimmel\u2019s show following public backlash, free speech advocates warned at the time that the Trump administration<\/a> would not stop trying to censor opposing views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Trump regime\u2019s war on free speech is no joke\u2014and it\u2019s not over,\u201d Free Press co-CEO Craig Aaron said at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) wrote<\/a> of Carr\u2019s Saturday statement: \u201cThis is worse than the comedian stuff, and by a lot. The stakes here are much higher. He\u2019s not talking about late night shows, he\u2019s talking about how a war is covered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carr\u2019s note comes at a particularly urgent time for independent media coverage in the US, as Paramount Skydance, which is run by the son of pro-Trump billionaire Larry Ellison, is set<\/a> to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns CNN. The Trump administration has often criticized CNN\u2019s coverage, including of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told<\/a> reporters, \u201cThe sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better,\u201d as he complained about a CNN report on how the Pentagon<\/a> underestimated the risk that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US aggression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carr has already spoken out in favor of the merger, telling<\/a> CNBC he thought it was a \u201cgood deal, and I think it should get through pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This piece has been updated with quotes from Sens. Chris Murphy,\u00a0Elizabeth Warren<\/a>, and Mark Kelly.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olivia Rosane<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olivia Rosane is a staff writer for Common Dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Bio ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government at the Rayburn House Office Building on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Photo by John McDonnell\/Getty Images) \u201cBrendan Carr is threatening the media to cover the war the way the Trump… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47215"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47215"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47216,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47215\/revisions\/47216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}