The administration of President Donald Trump has warned that news outlets could have their broadcasting licenses revoked over critical reporting on the war against Iran, accusing the media of "distortions". Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr stated in a social media post on Saturday that broadcasters must "operate in the public interest", or else lose their licenses. He added that broadcasters running "hoaxes and news distortions — also known as the fake news" have a chance to correct course before their license renewals come up.

This 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. For instance, last year, he called on the channel ABC and its distributors to "find ways to change conduct, to take action" regarding comedian Jimmy Kimmel, whose late-night show had been critical of the president. ABC temporarily suspended Kimmel’s show in the aftermath of those comments.

Carr’s latest statement prompted swift condemnation from politicians and free-speech advocates, who likened his remarks to censorship. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii wrote that this is "a clear directive to provide positive war coverage or else licenses may not be renewed". 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, stating that "the First Amendment doesn’t allow the government to censor information about the war it’s waging".

Carr’s statement came in response to a social media post from Trump, accusing the "fake news media" of reporting that US refuelling planes had been struck in an Iranian attack in Saudi Arabia. Trump claimed that reporting to the contrary was intentionally misleading and added that "lowlife 'Papers' and Media actually want us to lose the War". 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.

Polling shows that the war, launched by the US and Israel on February 28, is largely unpopular in the US. 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. The war has also been condemned by legal experts as a clear violation of international law, which prohibits unprovoked attacks. However, Trump has offered shifting rationales as to why he believes Iran posed an imminent threat to US security and has 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.

Source: www.aljazeera.com