‘Actually want us to lose the War’: U.S. broadcast licenses in danger over ‘fake news’ from Iran conflict

The chief of the Federal Communications Commission is confirming U.S. broadcasters must “operate in the public interest,” and delivering fake news is not that.

It is FCC chairman Brendan Carr who issued a statement calling for broadcast corporations to correct how they are report about the Iran war.

“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,” he confirmed.

“The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not. And frankly, changing course is in their own business interests since trust in legacy media has now fallen to an all time low of just 9% and are ratings disasters.

“The American people have subsidized broadcasters to the tune of billions of dollars by providing free access to the nation’s airwaves. It is very important to bring trust back into media, which has earned itself the label of fake news. When a political candidate is able to win a landslide election victory after in the face of hoaxes and distortions, there is something very wrong. It means the public has lost faith and confidence in the media. And we can’t allow that to happen. Time for change!”

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.

The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they… https://t.co/7bBgnsbalw

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) March 14, 2026

He had cited a statement from President Donald Trump, who said, “Yet against, an intentionally misleading headline by the Fake News Media about the five tanker planes that were supposedly struck down at an Airport in Saudi Arabia, and of no further use. In actuality, the Base was hit a few days ago but the planes were not ‘struck’ or ‘destroyed.’ Four of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service. One had slightly more damage, but will be in the air shortly.”

He specifically cited the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, both of which have adopted far-left political ideologies, and he said they “actually want us to lose the War.”

A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress takes off for a night mission during Operation Epic Fury. Strikes from U.S. forces continue to be unpredictable, dynamic, and decisive. pic.twitter.com/LU9zogVy7C

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 15, 2026

The Washington Examiner said Carr, a Trump appointee, “has previously waded into fights over certain networks’ coverage. That has included much publicized spats with ABC and CBS over their respective late-night hosts, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert.”

Columnist Guy Benson has charged that news coverage of the Iran conflict doesn’t reflect the success for the U.S. there.

“We also heard from the president multiple points about how successful the mission has been in Iran, and based on a lot of the coverage you see, especially elsewhere, you would have no idea what a smashing success this has been for the United States and for Israel,” Benson explained on Fox News.

President Trump has reported the destruction of Iran’s air force and navy, as well as many members of its command structure.

Benson said the Iranian regime has been “absolutely obliterated,” listing the leadership as being “decapitated” and their capacity to respond “massively diminished,” the report said.

But Benson said reports still are negative.

“There has been this drumbeat of negativity in the coverage that I think is distorting the picture,” he said. “Yes, there are big challenges. Yes, we just had the tragic loss of life of more Americans. Yes, there is the issue about oil prices.

“Of course, these are things I’m sure the administration anticipated and game planned for, but you’ve got to zoom out and look at the bigger picture,” Benson added.

Free speech advocates complained that the government was trying to impose speech codes on broadcasters.

‘Heartbreaking’: War Department identifies 6 U.S. service members killed in tanker crash in Iraq