FCC Warns of Crackdown on Corporate Media’s ‘Fake Polls’ Ahead of Midterms– slaynews.com

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr says the agency could soon issue guidance warning broadcast networks about airing “fake polls” that could be used to suppress voters ahead of the midterm elections.

Carr said broadcasters operate under a fundamentally different set of obligations from cable networks and online platforms because they use federally licensed public airwaves.

“The one thing that President Donald Trump gets, fundamentally, is that broadcast TV is completely different than other forms of distribution, including cable,” Carr said Sunday.

“And so many broadcasters right now, they [want to] break the deal that they cut with the American people,” Carr continued.

“They get billions of dollars in taxpayer, effectively, subsidized distribution.

“And what they’re supposed to do in exchange is operate in the public interest, not some sort of narrow partisan interest.”

Carr Warns About ‘Fake Polls’ Ahead of Midterms

Carr said the FCC is examining several potential actions involving broadcasters, specifically pointing to concerns about polling presented to television audiences.

“I think President Trump is over the target, and we’re looking at a lot of actions,” Carr said.

“For instance, there’s a lot of interest right now in fake polls that are out there,” he continued.