Brendan Carr Takes Up Trump’s ‘fake Polls’ Fight

Brendan Carr warned broadcasters Wednesday to vet their polling carefully, suggesting his Federal Communications Commission could punish outlets for sharing results the administration believes deceive viewers.

The warning comes less than two weeks ahead of the November midterm election and will likely inflame long-running concerns that Carr, as chair of the FCC, is improperly jawboning media companies over coverage opposed by the Trump administration.

“During this election season, there has been a significant surge in entirely Fake Polls and Suppression Polls designed to do nothing more than interfere with the regular functioning of the electoral process and alter the normal patterns of voter turnout and enthusiasm,” Carr wrote Wednesday on X. “Broadcasters are advised to avoid engaging in News Distortions or running Broadcast Hoaxes by airing Polls that would violate their regulatory obligations.”

Carr, who has drawn bipartisan criticism for his threats and open-ended investigations into broadcasters, didn’t offer any examples of fake polling, nor did FCC spokespeople immediately respond to a question about what he meant.

The agency does not traditionally police polling results, but Carr has said it could fall under rules prohibiting broadcast news distortion or the publication of hoaxes.

Carr’s complaints echo those of President Donald Trump, who frequently attacks polling numbers showing low support. Carr floated the idea of issuing guidance on broadcasters’ obligations to accurately cover poll results in early September, but no formal documents have been published.

Critics, though, say Carr is weaponizing the FCC by misusing arcane media rules to appease Trump. Carr has also been unusually close to the president compared to his predecessors, and he appeared alongside Trump at a campaign rally in Alaska earlier this month.

Anna Gomez, the FCC’s lone Democratic commissioner, quickly pushed back against Carr’s statement Wednesday.

“Pollsters who intentionally mislead the public should answer for it, but broadcasters who report publicly available polling data should never be punished when a poll is wrong,” Gomez said. “FCC rules on news distortion or hoaxes do not apply to a station that reports this data in good faith.”

Wednesday’s post is just the latest in a string of incidents in which Carr has gone after broadcasters. His comments on a conservative podcast prompted the suspension of late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel last September, and the FCC is currently engaged in a court fight with Disney over the agency’s early review of its ABC licenses.

In his post on Wednesday, Carr suggested broadcasters could move to supplement past polling coverage with more information if they want to avoid any issues with his agency.

“If broadcasters believe they should provide their viewers with additional context and information about Polls they have covered, they can now take those actions consistent with FCC regulations,” Carr added.