Washington: US Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr has warned American news television networks of revocation of broadcast licenses over their coverage of the Iran war, remarks that drew sharp political backlash.
After US President Donald Trump lashed out at the media coverage of the Iran war, Carr asked news broadcasters to “correct course” and “operate in public interest”, failing which they risk losing their licenses.
“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,” Carr said in a post on X on Saturday.
The warning triggered sharp backlash from Democrats and some Republicans, who said the comments raised concerns about press freedom.
Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, criticised the remarks on X and said threatening licences over coverage of the war would violate constitutional protections.
“If Trump doesn’t like your coverage of the war, his FCC will pull your broadcast licence. That is flagrantly unconstitutional,” Newsom wrote.
Democratic senator Elizabeth Warren also criticised the warning.
“Constitutional law 101: it’s illegal for the government to censor free speech it just doesn’t like about Trump’s Iran war. This threat is straight out of the authoritarian playbook,” Warren said.
Trump welcomed Carr’s comments and accused some news organisations of spreading false information about the conflict.
“I am so thrilled to see Brendan Carr… looking at the licences of some of these corrupt and highly unpatriotic ‘news’ organisations,” Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social.
The president said broadcasters receive access to US airwaves and should not use them to “perpetuate lies”.
Carr later defended his position on X, saying the FCC can deny or revoke a licence if a broadcaster fails to serve the public interest, adding that “no one has a First Amendment right to a licence”.
