Brendan Carr: Reporting on polls may violate broadcast license terms

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: New York, Oct. 21, 2026 — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has proclaimed on social platform X that broadcasters who report on purported “fake polls” violate license terms by engaging in “news distortion” or “broadcast hoaxes,” accusing them of violating “basic journalistic ethics.” Freedom of the Press Foundation Chief of Advocacy Seth Stern said: “Brendan Carr is not the journalism police. And he is just about the least qualified person in the country to lecture the press about journalistic ethics. The tell is that literally every time he attacks the press, it’s because of reporting that was unfavorable to his boss, Donald Trump, whose gilded face he’s been known to wear as a lapel pin. Carr could care less if reporting is accurate, as long…