Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr is calling for broadcasters to “correct course” over their coverage of the Iran war or lose their licenses.
Carr reposted a Truth Social statement from President Donald Trump, in which the president trashed a Wall Street Journal report that revealed five U.S. Air Force refueling planes were struck and damaged while stationed at an air base in Saudi Arabia. Trump insisted that four of the aircraft “had virtually no damage,” while the fifth had “slightly more” but will return to the air soon. He called the piece “intentionally misleading” and accused the media of wanting the United State to “lose” the war.
Echoing Trump’s criticism, Carr went on to issue a stern warning to unspecified broadcasters “running hoaxes and news distortions.”
“The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not,” he posted on X.
The FCC head also said “changing course” was in these broadcasters “own business interests,” pointing to low public trust in legacy media.
“The American people have subsidized broadcasters to the tune of billions of dollars by providing free access to the nation’s airwaves,” Carr added. “It is very important to bring trust back into media, which has earned itself the label of fake news.”
“Time for change!” he concluded.
A Trump appointee, Carr has previously waded into fights over certain networks’ coverage. That has included much publicized spats with ABC and CBS over their respective late-night hosts, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert.
But his statement on Saturday comes at a far more sensitive time, as the U.S. war with Iran enters its third week.
The Trump administration has been regularly slamming media outlets’ coverage of the war since the start, with War Secretary Pete Hegseth leading the charge.
Hegseth, a former TV host himself, has accused the media of wanting to make Trump “look bad” by reporting on the negative aspects of the war, including the U.S. casualties.
He has instead been highlighting the successes of the military operation, insisting that the U.S. is “decimating” Iran.
