Trump official issues threat to broadcasters over coverage of Middle East war
The head of the USA's federal communication agency has accused several broadcasters of "hoaxes and news distortions", threatening to revoke their broadcasting licences if their coverage of the Middle East conflict doesn't change.
Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Brendan Carr delivered the ultimatum after referencing a Truth Social post by President Donald Trump, who slammed reporting by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal on US tanker planes that were hit in Saudi Arabia.
"Their terrible reporting is the exact opposite of actual facts!" he said, claiming the planes received little to no damage.
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Brendan Carr, left, was apppointed as FCC chairman by US president Donald Trump. AP
"They are truly sick and demented people that have no idea the damage they cause the United States of America."
While Trump did not criticise any television broadcasters in this instance, Carr claimed broadcasters must act "in the public interest", and delivered a veiled threat of removing licences if they did not change their tune.
"Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions - also known as the fake news - have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up," he said on X.
"They will lose their licenses if they do not."
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Brendan Carr claims trust in "legacy media" organisations has fallen. AP
Carr has been involved in the FCC since 2017, and assumed his role as chairman when he was appointed by Trump at the start of his second presidency last year.
He claims trust in "legacy media" is falling, hinting it is in the best interests of broadcasters to "change course".
"Trust in legacy media has now fallen to an all-time low of just nine per cent and are ratings disasters," he claimed, not citing a source for his figure.
"It is very important to bring trust back into media, which has earned itself the label of fake news."
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Brendan Carr previously spoke out against government censorship. Leigh Vogel
Carr has previously said governments should not intervene to prevent speech or opinions they do not like.
"Should the government censor speech it doesn't like? Of course not," he said in a post on X in 2019.
"The FCC does not have a roving mandate to police speech in the name of the 'public interest.'"
In another social media post from 2023, he said "censorship is the authoritarian's dream".
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