The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has threatened the licenses of news broadcasters for reporting on the damage that Iranian strikes have done to the US military.

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

The Chairman of the FCC, Brendan Carr, said:

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 quoted a separate X post, which included a post from Donald Trump on Truth Social. Specifically, Trump pointed to the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other “lowlife papers”.

According to Trump no plane was damaged, but “one had slightly more damage” than the rest.

We can only presume that this means the US is not doing so well in the war.

The pesky news headline that got your station’s license in trouble: “Iran war not going so well, parts of US military telling other parts it’s not going so well” https://t.co/3GKbookK7F

— Thijs (@notmobydick) March 14, 2026

US — free press

A free press is more important than ever — especially when Trump and Netanyahu have waged an illegal and unprovoked war.

You have to understand a free press—especially in wartime—is very important. Trump is trying to stop that.

When you wage an illegal preemptive war that has targeted civilians and your secretary of defense says “no quarter” ( war crimes” then there needs to be documentation. https://t.co/lKu1uhDbav

— Tina Issa (@tinaissa) March 14, 2026

Even more so, when Trump is sending US troops to fight in a war which he only started because his incompetent ‘advisors’ (i.e., Trump’s son-in-law) did not have the “technical expertise” to understand the negotiations with Iran.

The US government isn’t being forthcoming with Americans. More transparency would fix this. But the war is being run by idiots in the dumbest administration in American history. https://t.co/6TUG5WB7vz

— Michael (@mikethenavyguy) March 14, 2026

Importantly, the First Amendment in the US Constitution states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Therefore, the FCC or Trump threatening media organisations is illegal.

If Trump doesn’t like your coverage of the war, his FCC will pull your broadcast license.

That is flagrantly unconstitutional. https://t.co/Jp1Mk5EEJb

— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) March 14, 2026

In January, 2025, the White House said:

Over the last 4 years, the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, deplatform, or otherwise suppress speech that the Federal Government did not approve.

Yet here Trump is, telling news broadcasters what they can and cannot publish during his illegal war.

If you’re not willing to be a propaganda machine for this admin, our FCC Chair thinks your license should be revoked

They are so terrified of the truth
It reveals their greed, hatefulness, thin-skinned egos & incompetence
https://t.co/akrmpjCSFS

— (((psychrat))) (@psychrat) March 14, 2026

Even Brendan Carr said in December 2023:

Free speech is the counterweight—it is the check on government control.

That is why censorship is the authoritarian’s dream.

And in December 2024:

Censorship isn’t just about silencing words—it is about controlling ideas and replacing robust debate with the cement of orthodoxy.

So, how much has Trump paid him to change his tune?

Nazi Germany

It’s ‘Never forget’ World War Two, unless one of Jeffrey Epstein’s pedo-friends is telling you to.

Fascism by every definition. Fighting in WW2 to eliminate this is oddly celebrated on Nov 11 by the same tools that support this Presidency. “Never Forget” until your orange pedo cult god tells you to forget. What are we doing here? https://t.co/gQOK1ulW9L

— Ringo (@ringo1973) March 14, 2026

When Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, his regime destroyed the country’s free press. It shut down hundreds of opposition newspapers and issued daily orders dictating what could and could not be published.

See the similarities yet?

“Give up your rights to freedom of speech and the press so we can have state-sponsored propaganda, or else” is what authoritarian countries say. https://t.co/kB3Ef6WPMB

— Melanie D’Arrigo (@DarrigoMelanie) March 14, 2026

It is straight out of the Nazi Germany propaganda playbook.

The is the federal government telling news stations to provide favorable coverage of the war or their licenses will be pulled.

A truly extraordinary moment.

We aren’t on the verge of a totalitarian takeover. WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT.

Act like it. https://t.co/3w4kpzray7

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) March 14, 2026

Freedom of the press is the backbone of society. It allows us to report on the truth and hold powerful people to account. The Committee to Protect Journalists has called state-sponsored censorship one of the “most urgent threats facing journalists worldwide”. However, it appears the US is now heading towards countries like North Korea and Burma — where independent journalists cease to exist.

Ultimately, the US government does not want the American people to know that its attacks on Iran are illegal and that they’re failing badly.

Feature image via CNN/YouTube

By HG

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