<\/p>\nListen to this article<\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span>5 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<\/button>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>The administration of President Donald Trump has warned that news outlets could have their broadcasting licences revoked over critical reporting on the war against Iran, accusing the media of \u201cdistortions\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said in a social media <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BrendanCarrFCC\/status\/2032855414233047172?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post<\/a> on Saturday that broadcasters must \u201coperate in the public interest\u201d, or else lose their licences.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cBroadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions \u2014 also known as the fake news \u2014 have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up,\u201d Carr wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The warning was the latest apparent threat from Carr, who has repeatedly attracted scrutiny for statements that appear to pressure broadcasters to conform with Trump priorities.<\/p>\n<p>Last year, for instance, Carr called on the channel ABC and its distributors to \u201cfind ways to change conduct, to take action\u201d on comedian Jimmy Kimmel, whose late-night show had been critical of the president.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can do this the easy way or the hard way,\u201d Carr said of Kimmel on a podcast. ABC temporarily suspended Kimmel\u2019s show in the aftermath of those comments.<\/p>\n<p>Carr\u2019s latest statement prompted swift condemnation from politicians and free-speech advocates, who likened his remarks to censorship.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a clear directive to provide positive war coverage or else licenses may not be renewed,\u201d Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/brianschatz\/status\/2032876036946383201?s=46\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is worse than the comedian stuff, and by a lot. The stakes here are much higher. He\u2019s not talking about late night shows, he\u2019s talking about how a war is covered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Aaron Terr, the director of public advocacy at the Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), likewise denounced Carr for seeking to silence negative war coverage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe First Amendment doesn\u2019t allow the government to censor information about the war it\u2019s waging,\u201d Terr <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/aaronterr1\/status\/2032867422898676186?s=46\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"trump-denounces-war-coverage\">Trump denounces war coverage<\/h2>\n<p>Carr\u2019s latest statement came in response to a social media post from Trump, accusing the \u201cfake news media\u201d of reporting that US refuelling planes had been struck in an Iranian attack in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe base was hit a few days ago, but the planes were not \u2018struck\u2019 or \u2018destroyed\u2019,\u201d Trump said in a Truth Social <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116227789768118115\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post<\/a>. \u201cFour of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that reporting to the contrary was intentionally misleading. \u201cLowlife \u2018Papers\u2019 and Media actually want us to lose the War,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The president and his allies have faced accusations that they use the power of the state to penalise dissent and critical news coverage, raising concerns about press freedom.<\/p>\n<p>Polling shows that the war, launched by the US and Israel on February 28, is largely unpopular in the US.<\/p>\n<p>A recent Quinnipiac poll found that 53 percent of voters oppose the military action against Iran, including 89 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of independent voters.<\/p>\n<p>The war has also been condemned by legal experts as a clear violation of international law, which prohibits unprovoked attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Trump, however, has offered shifting rationales as to why he believes Iran posed an imminent threat to US security.<\/p>\n<p>He has also asserted that the war is proceeding successfully, despite ongoing Iranian attacks on US forces across the region and the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade artery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve won. Let me tell you, we\u2019ve won,\u201d he told a rally this week in Kentucky. \u201cIn the first hour, it was over.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His administration, meanwhile, has blamed the news media for turning public opinion against the war.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYet some in this crew, in the press, just can\u2019t stop,\u201d Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said during a briefing on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>A former Fox News host, Hegseth called for \u201cpatriotic\u201d reporters to write more optimistic headlines instead. He denounced TV banners that read, for example, \u201cMideast war intensifies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat should the banner read instead? How about \u2018Iran increasingly desperate\u2019? Because they are. They know it, and so do you, if it can be admitted,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n<p>He criticised the news outlet CNN, in particular, for a report asserting that the Trump administration had underestimated the chances of Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth quipped that he hoped a prospective deal would soon place CNN under the control of David Ellison, son of close Trump ally and tech executive Larry Ellison.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a05 mins info The administration of President Donald Trump has warned that news outlets could have their broadcasting licences revoked over critical reporting on the war against Iran, accusing the media of \u201cdistortions\u201d. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said in a social media post on Saturday that broadcasters must \u201coperate in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}