US regulator threatens broadcasters over war coverage

WASHINGTON

The top U.S. broadcast regulator on March 14 threatened media outlets over negative coverage of the Middle East war, after President Donald Trump slammed critical headlines from the "Fake News Media.”

The president since his first term has derided mainstream media as "fake news" and has sued major outlets over what he sees as unfair coverage.

Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees U.S. radio, television and internet media, said broadcasters risked losing their licenses over news coverage.

"The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not," Carr said in a post on X.

"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."

Carr's statement did not single out any news outlet, but it included a Trump social media post in which the president called out "an intentionally misleading headline by the Fake News Media" on five tanker planes hit by Iran strikes in Saudi Arabia.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a U.S.-based free speech advocacy organization, slammed Carr's "authoritarian" warning as "outrageous."

Since Israel and the U.S. first launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, both Trump and Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth have regularly swatted down critical stories as "fake news."

On March 13, both the Pentagon and White House called out broadcaster CNN after it ran a story suggesting Washington had underestimated Iran's ability to disrupt global oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

"This story is 100% FAKE NEWS," Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X.