‘This Is Dangerous’: Alarm as Trump FCC Chair Threatens Broadcasters Over Poll Coverage
"We are sliding into a dictatorship," said one critic.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr on Wednesday threatened broadcasters that cover what he described as "fake polls," which he said hurt "voter turnout and enthusiasm."
In a social media post, Carr attacked news outlets for "amplifying or airing these polls without regard to basic journalistic ethics and without informing the public that those polls lack a scientific, accurate, or even real basis."
Carr did not provide a single specific example of a "fake" opinion poll, nor did he name a broadcaster who has promoted one. President Donald Trump, who nominated Carr to head the FCC, has repeatedly decried polls as "fake" as they've shown his approval ratings at record lows.
Later in the post, Carr hinted that the FCC would take direct action against broadcasters for informing their viewers about opinion polls.
"The FCC takes these issues seriously," said Carr. "Broadcasters are prohibited by the terms of their federal licenses from engaging in news distortion or promoting broadcast hoaxes. It is important that broadcasters comply with their public interest obligations."
Carr's post drew a swift rebuke from Democratic FCC commissioner Anna Gomez.
"Pollsters who intentionally mislead the public should answer for it," wrote Gomez, "but broadcasters who report publicly available polling data should never be punished when a poll is wrong. FCC rules on news distortion or hoaxes do not apply to a station that reports this data in good faith."
Steve Herman, former White House bureau chief at Voice of America, wrote in a social media post that Carr's assertions about "news distortion" are "stretching specific regulations far beyond their legal definitions," as "the FCC can't mandate how a broadcaster contextualizes a poll."
"The FCC threatening broadcasters for airing specific political data is a chilling content-based restriction on speech," Herman added, "which federal courts subject to extreme judicial review and the commission would almost certainly lose such cases, according to First Amendment scholars."
Former TV meteorologist Chris Gloninger predicted that Carr's post would have a chilling effect on local news stations.
"Holy shit, this is dangerous," Gloninger wrote. "Two weeks before an election, the FCC chair is threatening broadcaster licenses over polls he calls 'fake.' No GM will risk that, so polls vanish."
Mark Jacob, former metro editor at the Chicago Tribune, called Carr "anti-free-speech" for "threatening to punish news outlets that publish polls showing Trump's deep unpopularity."
"We are sliding into a dictatorship," Jacob said, "and it would be helpful if major media would do their duty and warn the public."
Adam Klasfeld, editor-in-chief at All Rise News, described Carr as the president's "censorship czar" who is warning news outlets against "the dissemination of data disfavored by the state."
Princeton historian Kevin Kruse argued Carr's threats warranted his impeachment and removal from office.
"The president shouting 'fake news' is bad enough," wrote Kruse, "but the FCC commissioner threatening to punish broadcasters for promoting 'fake news' like 'the president is historically unpopular' is so much worse."
Carr's post drew ridicule from Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko, who informed the FCC chair that "it’s not illegal to tell the American people that Trump is a failed president."
Max Steele, senior director of communications at gun safety advocacy organization Everytown, similarly ridiculed Carr.
"It is ILLEGAL to say the brave and smart President Trump is at historic polling lows!!!" he wrote sarcastically.
