FCC Chair Threatens Media: Cheer Trump's War Or Else!

 

More outrageous extortion from the Malignant Fascist's regime as this uniquely awful and dangerous chode continues to audition for Propaganda Minister:

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr threatened media stations with losing their broadcast licenses if they don't fall in line producing positive war coverage.

"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," Carr posted on X Saturday. "The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not."

Carr was referring to a Truth Social post by President Donald Trump, who whined over negative media coverage of the ongoing war with Iran started by the U.S. and Israel.

Trump claimed reports about Air Force refueling planes hit by an Iranian missile strike at a Saudi Arabian air base were "intentionally misleading."

“The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (in particular), and other Lowlife ‘Papers’ and Media actually want us to lose the War,” Trump posted. “Their terrible reporting is the exact opposite of the actual facts!”

Trump claimed the planes were not struck. But it's increasingly difficult to take the president at his word as the war progresses. Trump has refused to give a timeline, saying the war will end "when I feel it in my bones," has bragged about taking out "100%" of Iran's military while begging allied nations for help, and has denied the U.S. struck an elementary school in Iran that killed more than 170 people, despite evidence that points to the U.S. as being responsible.

For all of these life-costing blunders, Trump and Carr blame the press.

"The American people have subsidized broadcasters to the tune of billions of dollars by providing free access to the nation’s airwaves," Carr said in his post. "It is very important to bring trust back into media, which has earned itself the label of fake news." (our emphasis)

So far, very few in the media who've been pressured by the Malignant Fascist and his toadies have stood up.  Freedom of the press is enshrined in the Constitution, something that is of no interest or import to these fascists.  The media needs to stand up -- en masse -- now.   The courts might have something to say about this extortion also.

BONUS:  This is the correct response from Democrats. More here.

(Image: Getty)

Today's Extortion: $10 Billion To Trump Regime

 

With his allies in the tech world ready to take over TikTok, the corrupt Malignant Fascist's regime is collecting a $10 billion "fee" for brokering the deal with China.  From Newsweek:

"A federal law required TikTok to either shut down in the United States or be sold to domestic owners at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in 2025.

However, the president issued a series of executive actions extending the deadline, while the White House helped broker a sale to a group led by cloud-computing tech giant Oracle Corp. and private-equity firm Silver Lake Management LLC. [snip]

The new entity, called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, will oversee content moderation on the platform and safeguard the data of U.S. users.

The fee is to be paid by investors involved in the TikTok transaction, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. [snip]

The payment is part of a broader agreement that transferred control of TikTok’s U.S. operations from ByteDance to a group of investors seen as friendly with the administration, according to people familiar with the matter. It comes on top of investments used to establish the new company that now operates the app in the U.S.

Those investors include Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi–based investor MGX. The group and its backers paid about $2.5 billion to the Treasury Department when the deal closed in January and are expected to make additional payments until the total reaches $10 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports." (our emphasis)

Of course, oligarch billionaire Larry Ellison of Oracle fame is going to benefit from this payoff to the MF, much like the MF's regime rigged his son David's Skydance purchase of Paramount, and subsequently the merger with Warner Bros. Discovery which was facilitated by regulatory favoritism. CBS, CNN, TikTok and other outlets are now under the control of a right-wing Trumper, who has suggested he'll fire those who are critics of the MF.  Let's hope this latest venture goes south on them.

(photo: The MF and his ally Ellison / Andrew Harnik, Getty)