DEMOCRACY WATCHFCC Threats and the Fog of War: The Government Cannot Be the Arbiter of Truth
After President Trump’s accused several news organizations of being “Fake News Media” for “terrible reporting” on the Iran conflict, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened that the licenses of news organizations would be at risk if they reported what the administration regarded as “misinformation.” This episode should remind Americans that letting the government decide what information may be shared and what counts as truth is a dangerous game.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump accused several news organizations of being “Fake News Media” for “terrible reporting” on the Iran conflict, which was causing “damage” to the US. The president was clearly upset about reporting that claimed that multiple US aircraft had been “struck” or “destroyed,” while Trump stated that this was not the case.
But rather than just let the president vent over some news reporting that may have gotten some details wrong amidst the fog of war, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr jumped into the fray by issuing a threat. He stated:
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 do not.
To put this statement plainly, if the current administration perceives broadcast news reporting as misinformation, then those broadcast licenses are at risk. This episode should remind Americans that letting the government decide what information may be shared and what counts as truth is a dangerous game. And this is just the latest action that shows how the weaponization of the FCC’s current powers over speech poses a serious threat to the values of free expression.
Should the Government Police Misinformation?
The FCC claims the authority to police what it calls “news distortion” and “hoaxes” to address problems with media accuracy and bias. The agency has a longstanding policy that it may deny or revoke the license of a broadcaster that has engaged in “deliberate distortion” of news regarding a “significant event and not merely a minor or incidental aspect of the news report.”
Americans want to know they can “trust” the news, but that does not mean the government should dictate what is often a subjective call. That trust emerges in the media marketplace, not from a government making calls about what is true or false. This iterative process of critical inquiry is messy, but it is the best way we have for discovering truth. The government should play no role in determining what news can be reported.
