Trump Administration Warns News Outlets Over Critical Iran War Coverage

President Donald Trump’s administration has accused the media of “distortions” and threatened to cancel their broadcasting licenses for negative reporting on the war against Iran.

In a social media post on Saturday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr stated that broadcasters must “operate in the public interest” or 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,” Carr penned.

The warning was the most recent seeming threat from Carr, who has been under fire for remarks that seem to put pressure on broadcasters to support Trump’s agenda.

For example, last year, Carr urged ABC and its distributors to “find ways to change conduct, to take action” about comedian Jimmy Kimmel, whose late-night program has been critical of the president.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” In a podcast, Carr mentioned Kimmel. Following those remarks, ABC briefly halted Kimmel’s program.

Politicians and proponents of free expression quickly denounced Carr’s most recent statement, comparing it to censorship.

“This is a clear directive to provide positive war coverage or else licenses may not be renewed,” Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz wrote.

“This is worse than the comedian stuff, and by a lot. The stakes here are much higher. He’s not talking about late-night shows; he’s talking about how a war is covered.”

Carr was also criticized by Aaron Terr, director of public advocacy at the Foundation of Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), for attempting to stifle critical coverage of the conflict.