Over the weekend, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr posted to social media a warning to licensees that they face losing their licenses when renewal time comes. He posted: “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. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not. And frankly, changing course is in their own business interests since trust in legacy media has now fallen to an all time low of just 9% and are ratings disasters. The American people have subsidized broadcasters to the tune of billions of dollars by providing free access to the nation’s airwaves. It is very important to bring trust back into media, which has earned itself the label of fake news. When a political candidate is able to win a landslide election victory after in the face of hoaxes and distortions, there is something very wrong. It means the public has lost faith and confidence in the media. And we can’t allow that to happen. Time for change!” Carr included a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump in which he complains about papers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reporting on a strike against the U.S. base in Saudi Arabia that hit five refueling tanker planes. Trump said the reporting was intentionally wrong.
