The policy was directly referenced by FCC Chair Brendan Carr in disputes over Jimmy Kimmel and "60 Minutes."NBC NewsBy Kevin CollierNovember 13, 2025A bipartisan group of former Federal Communications Commission leaders has petitioned the agency to repeal the policy the Trump administration invoked in discussions surrounding Jimmy Kimmel at ABC and in the investigation of "60 Minutes" at CBS.The group — which includes five Republican and two Democratic former FCC commissioners, as well as several former senior staffers — calls for eliminating the agency’s long-standing “news distortion” policy.The policy, according to the FCC’s website description, allows the agency to sanction broadcasters if “they have deliberately distorted a factual news report.”The policy is not codified, but grew out of a standard used by the FCC to evaluate broadcasters. It was rarely invoked for decades until this year, when President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the FCC, Brendan Carr, cited it in several high-profile disputes with networks his agency regulates.
What's this? I thought the 1st Amendment protected speech! Yup it does... but you know Trump never liked the Constitution, it cramps his style! Media Play News wrote;
Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr said he is pleased with ABC’s decision to indefinitely suspend late night comic Jimmy Kimmel’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show following the host’s comments on the death of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said in his Sept. 15 monologue.Conservative commentators online quickly took issue with Kimmel’s remarks, which seemed to suggest Kirk’s alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson, was also a Trump supporter.
How dare he talk against their cult idol! That's heresy! The First Amendment be damned... those are fighting words to the MAGA how dare he insult their idol! There must be hell to pay!
The Brookings InstitutionBy Tom WheelerSeptember 23, 2025The reinstatement of late-night comic Jimmy Kimmel’s show by ABC does not mitigate the free speech concerns triggered by his suspension. The recent actions of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under Chairman Brendan Carr are a warning about what is to come. Ominously, Carr has promised, “we’re not done yet.”We should expect “a massive shift in dynamics in the media ecosystem,” Carr has warned. The FCC will preside over that shift in accord with what he describes as the “permission structure that President Trump’s election has provided.”“We are fully aligned with the agenda that President Trump is running,” Carr told the Wall Street Journal. This includes his willingness to punish media companies if Trump and he believe they are “out of line.”
One of the first goals that an authoritarian government does is silence the opposition. This is more then Trump seeking revenge, this is a systematic attack on the First Amendment. The Secretary of Defense kicked the reporters out of the Pentagon, forbade the military to speak to Congress. What are they trying to hide?
They are using the threat of revoking their licenses as an axe over their heads...
Television broadcasters operate using licenses to access the public’s airwaves. The FCC grants those licenses. The chairman’s coercive intent was made clear early in his term when he posted, “Broadcast licenses are not sacred cows. These media companies are required by law to operate in the public interest. If they don’t, they are going to be held accountable.” Because there is no precise definition of “public interest,” the FCC has broad discretion that ultimately comes down to the decision of one person: its chairman, Brendan Carr.
Trump has sued news networks to silence them. Trump attacks any negative press and praises networks like Fox News, Newsmax, or One America News Network (OANN). While the FCC has ignored inaccurate articles by them. Press Freedom Tracker reported that;
From the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, Brendan Carr, chair and senior Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission, has joined Trump in taking steps to punish and intimidate news outlets that have covered him and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting Carr’s efforts in this regularly updated report.
Trump and Company are politicalizing every branch of government, bowing to his every wish!
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