FCC chair Carr warns broadcasters over 'fake polls' without naming any
In short
FCC chair Brendan Carr warned FCC-licensed stations on Wednesday to beware of "fake polls", without saying which polls he meant, CNN reported. Former FCC officials and a press advocacy group criticised the warning.
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Brendan Carr, the Republican chair of the FCC, warned FCC-licensed stations on Wednesday to beware of "fake polls", CNN reported. Reuters headlined its report that Carr said broadcast networks could violate regulatory obligations by airing "fake polls". Ars Technica said the chair was warning media not to run the "fake polls" that Trump keeps complaining about. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
CNN said Carr did not specify which polls he thinks are bogus. His X post did not say, and he did not respond to CNN's request for comment on Wednesday afternoon. CNN wrote that this left the matter nebulous and that this "perhaps" was partly the point. [ 3 ]
CNN reported that the warning came the same day two new national polls showed Trump registering another record-low approval rating. It also came one day after a self-professed polling firm admitted to being a "fictional entity" that fabricated data and fooled news outlets. CNN called that a real problem but said it should not besmirch high-quality polls. It added that numerous reputable polls show Democrats poised to make big gains in the midterm elections. [ 3 ]
A group of former FCC officials called Carr's message "part of an accelerating White House strategy to tilt the electoral playing field in the President's favor and deny election results that don't go his way". They also said "the FCC has zero authority to dictate editorial decisions". Ars Technica reported that former FCC chairs say Carr aims to scare broadcasters into self-censorship. [ 2 , 3 ]
CNN noted that Congress has prohibited the FCC from trying to prevent the broadcast of any point of view. It said the agency is responsible for licensing local radio and TV stations across the US and for upholding basic standards, and that Carr has repeatedly used that limited power to pressure broadcasters. Press advocacy groups argued the post flew in the face of the First Amendment. Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said that every time Carr attacks the press, it is because of reporting that was unfavorable to Trump. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
The warning puts the FCC's licensing role and broadcasters' editorial choices about polls in the spotlight ahead of the midterm elections. Former FCC officials and press advocates object to it, while the documents do not report any FCC action against a station.
Key facts
- Brendan Carr, the Republican chair of the FCC, warned FCC-licensed stations to beware of "fake polls". [ 3 ]
- Reuters reported that Carr said broadcast networks could violate regulatory obligations by airing "fake polls". [ 1 ]
- Carr's X post did not say which polls he meant, and he did not respond to CNN's request for comment on Wednesday afternoon. [ 3 ]
- CNN reported that the warning came the same day two new national polls showed Trump registering another record-low approval rating. [ 3 ]
- CNN reported that a self-professed polling firm admitted the day before to being a "fictional entity" that fabricated data and fooled news outlets. [ 3 ]
- Former FCC officials said the FCC has "zero authority to dictate editorial decisions". [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Which polls Carr considers "fake". CNN reported that his X post did not specify them and that he did not respond to its request for comment.
- What regulatory obligations broadcasters could violate by airing "fake polls". Only the Reuters headline mentions this; the documents give no detail.