
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Patriot Act of 2001 under George W. Bush shook patriotic Americans with concern for their civil rights. Now the Trump administration has hit Americans with the threat of a move that could mean the death of free speech and independent journalism in the country. It’s time for conservatives to worry again, and this time it’s coming not from the left.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It happened over the weekend when President Trump went on Truth Social to deny media reports that Iranian missiles had struck five American military planes at a U.S. military base in Saudi Arabia. In his post, dated March 14, Trump admitted that the base was attacked but the American planes there were neither struck nor destroyed. Trump’s post went on to say that fake news media wants America to lose the war.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Within a few hours of Trump’s post, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr posted on X that broadcasters should stop airing “hoaxes and news distortions” or else risk losing their license.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not,” Carr wrote in his post.</p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions &#8211; also known as the fake news &#8211; have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up. <br><br>The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they… <a href="https://t.co/7bBgnsbalw">https://t.co/7bBgnsbalw</a></p>&mdash; Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/2032855414233047172?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2026</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The reaction to Carr’s threat of broadcast license cancellation was immediate and came from both sides of the political divide along with those on the fence. Military.com (March 16) wrote that the threat to cancel licenses has raised serious First Amendment concerns among lawmakers, journalists, and free speech advocates.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Libertarian Party of Louisiana posted on their official X account that FCC shouldn’t have the authority to threaten media with revocation of licenses.</p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Abolish broadcast licenses.<br><br>The FCC shouldn&#39;t have the power to threaten journalists with license revocation.</p>&mdash; Libertarian Party of Louisiana (@LouisianaLp) <a href="https://twitter.com/LouisianaLp/status/2033639219462037892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2026</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Concerns over the threat to press freedom by the FCC chairman were also aired on foreign media channels. Al Jazeera English got Frank Smyth, founder of Global Journalist Security, to comment on the issue. Smyth called it an unprecedented move that shows the government wants broadcasters to report the way the administration wants on the current war against Iran. He called it “the behavior of dictatorship.”</p>



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<amp-youtube layout="responsive" width="1080" height="608" data-videoid="XYqH7zc3i-U" title="Press freedom under threat? FCC warning to US media"><a placeholder href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYqH7zc3i-U"><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XYqH7zc3i-U/hqdefault.jpg" layout="fill" object-fit="cover" alt="Press freedom under threat? FCC warning to US media"></a></amp-youtube>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Former CNN anchor and Fox News columnist Rick Sanchez, who is now based in Russia and reports on international affairs, called out the FCC’s threat of license revocation to media and wrote on his X page: “That’s the kind of intimidation we accuse Iran of&#8230; But it’s happening in the United States.”</p>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Trump administration’s message to journalists is simple: criticize the war, lose your license.<br><br>The FCC is now signaling that coverage they don’t like could cost broadcasters their right to air.<br><br>That’s the kind of intimidation we accuse Iran of&#8230;<br><br>But it’s happening in the… <a href="https://t.co/phHTHCeIxT">pic.twitter.com/phHTHCeIxT</a></p>&mdash; Rick Sanchez (@RickSanchezTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/RickSanchezTV/status/2034147941930148241?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2026</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It’s also interesting to see that many liberals that had no problem censoring opposing voices on social media during the Biden and Obama administrations are speaking out against the FCC threat while many conservatives who championed freedom of press and independent speech guaranteed by the First Amendment are now either silent or expressing their support for FCC’s warning. Clearly, the march for free speech in today’s America depends on which foot is wearing the proverbial shoe.  ; ;</p>

Iran War and Trump Administration’s Threat to Freedom of Press
