Reactions continue to pour in following FCC Chair Brendan Carr threatening the broadcast licenses of outlets that report what he labeled as fake news.
Following a visit to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Carr tweeted a warning to broadcasters.
“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 wrote. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”
In a letter sent to Brendan Carr, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) shared his displeasure with the conduct of the FCC Chair.
“You are effectively demanding that broadcasters become state media and echo the Trump administration’s false talking points on this reckless, unconstitutional war,” wrote Markey. “This threat is just your latest authoritarian attempt to weaponize the FCC’s statutory authority to censor the media. It is a stain on the FCC’s storied history, and you should resign.”
Markey pointed to other instances, like an FCC investigation into Audacy’s KCBS in San Francisco for sharing reporting about immigration enforcement activity in the area, and his threats against ABC and Disney after Jimmy Kimmel’s comments following the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September as other activities that have been unbecoming of someone of Brendan Carr’s stature.
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