Trump lashes out at the US media for its critical coverage of the Iran war. Threats of revocation of broadcasting licenses
The US president accused media outlets of “treason” and implicitly endorsed the possibility of media censorship, a statement that drew harsh criticism from Democrats and free-speech groups, Forbes and Axios write.
Donald Trump has hinted that he supports the position of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr after he threatened to revoke the licenses of television stations promoting “fake news” in the context of the Iran war.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, the US president said on Sunday that Iran is “decimated” and that the only battles it is winning are “the ones it creates through AI,” which are distributed by the corrupt media, according to Forbes.
Trump then claimed that the “media outlets” were engaging in “treason” by allegedly spreading this false information promoted by Tehran. The president said he was “pleased” to see Carr “checking the licenses of some of these corrupt and extremely unpatriotic 'news' organizations.”
Carr's threats
Trump's post comes a day after Carr threatened TV stations over alleged “fake news” while retweeting an earlier post by the president complaining about the way the war was being portrayed.
“Television stations that broadcast false and distorted news — also known as fake news — now have a chance to course-correct before their licenses are renewed,” Carr said.
“The law is clear. TV stations must operate in the public interest and they will lose their licenses if they don't,” he added.
“A flagrant violation of the Constitution”
Several Democratic leaders criticized Carr's remarks.
“Basic notions of constitutional law: It is illegal for the government to censor free speech just because it doesn't like Trump's views on war with Iran. This threat is taken straight from the textbook of authoritarianism,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
“If Trump doesn't like the way you cover the war, his FCC will revoke your broadcast license. It's a flagrant violation of the Constitution,” California Governor Gavin Newsom also said.
But Carr's comments were also disputed by at least one Republican politician, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, telling Fox News on Sunday: “I'm a big supporter of the First Amendment. I don't like an authoritarian government, no matter who's running it.”
“Journalists are not intimidated by a tyrant with a briefcase”
“Let's face it: What President Carr is describing is government control of the media,” said Tara Puckey, director of the Radio, Television and Digital News Association, quoted by Axios.
“Journalists are not intimidated by a tyrant with a briefcase,” she added in a statement, urging reporters to continue their work.
First Amendment advocacy organization the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression also denounced Carr's “warning” as “outrageous.”
The organization warned in a statement that “when the government asks the media to become a spokesperson for the state under threat of punishment, something has gone very wrong.”
Attack on CNN
Other members of the Trump administration have also attacked the media during the war. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth criticized the reporters during Friday's news conference, specifically targeting CNN.
“The sooner David Ellison takes over that position, the better,” Hegseth said.
Paramount, Ellison's company, plans to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN, a transaction that requires the approval of the Trump administration.
Hegseth criticized a CNN report that cited multiple sources as saying the administration underestimated Iran's willingness to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
CNN CEO Mark Thompson said Friday that the network stands by its journalism. “Politicians have an obvious reason to claim that journalism that questions their decisions is false,” he said.
