{"id":2510223,"date":"2025-11-13T14:28:01","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T19:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-communication-officials-request-trump-to-repeal-censorship-policy\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T14:29:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T19:29:53","slug":"former-communication-officials-request-trump-to-repeal-censorship-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-communication-officials-request-trump-to-repeal-censorship-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Former communication officials request Trump to repeal censorship policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fformer-communication-officials-request-trump-to-repeal-censorship-policy%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2510223&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) leaders have petitioned the agency to repeal its long-standing &#8220;news distortion&#8221; policy, which had not been enforced for decades until it was invoked during the Trump management.The policy was recently used in cases involving a controversial edited &#8220;60 Minutes&#8221; segment and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel&#8217;s remarks about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The petition, filed by the Protect Democracy Project on behalf of former commissioners from both political parties, argues that the policy has been misused as a tool of censorship rather than to prevent misinformation. They contend that the policy violates First Amendment rights, chills free speech, and can be exploited for partisan purposes. The petition calls for abolishing the policy, emphasizing that expressions of opinion or unintentional errors should not be punishable. The renewed use of the news distortion rule has sparked concerns about government overreach and political targeting of broadcasters.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Former FCC leaders petition agency to eliminate long-standing &lsquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cbs-faces-news-distortion-complaint\/\" title=\"CBS Faces &#039;...&#039; Complaint\">news distortion&#038;rsquo<\/a>; policy<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2391253\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former heads of the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday called on the agency to repeal the &ldquo;news distortion&rdquo; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/policy\/\">policy<\/a> invoked by the Trump administration this year.<\/p>\n<p>The policy, which had not been invoked for decades prior to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr mentioning it in discussions surrounding an allegedly deceptively edited <em>60 Minutes<\/em> video and an incident where late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel made controversial statements about the murder of conservative activist <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/charlie-kirk\/\">Charlie Kirk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3885905\/ukraine-announces-audit-public-companies-fight-corruption\/\">Ukraine announces audit of public companies to fight corruption<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3886260\/watch-live-trump-signs-executive-order-foster-care\/\">WATCH LIVE: Trump signs executive order on foster care<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3885569\/mamdani-proactive-hochul-playbook-trump\/\">Mamdani borrows page from &#8216;proactive&#8217; Hochul playbook on Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The policy was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/protectdemocracy.org\/work\/fcc-news-distortion-policy\/\">petitioned<\/a> for repeal by the Protect Democracy Project. The organization filed the petition on behalf of a group of former FCC commissioners who claim the Trump administration misused the policy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In the right hands, it could stop misinformation, disinformation, what have you. But the problem is, it&rsquo;s never been used that way, and the FCC has other tools,&rdquo; said Gigi Sohn, an adviser to the petition. &ldquo;Right now, it&rsquo;s being used as a cudgel. And this is not just about Chair Carr. This is about future chairs or commissioners who want to use this as a tool of censorship.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The five Democratic and two Republican former commissioners who served in the agency from 1981 to 2017 argued that the policy was not applied to its intended purpose, which is to regulate a communications channel that has &ldquo;deliberately distorted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-washington-posts-paul-farhi-shows-why-professional-journalism-cant-be-salvaged\/\" title=\"Paul Farhi of The Washington Post demonstrates the irreparable state of &#039;professional&#039; journalism.\">factual news report<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The group&rsquo;s petition stated that when enforced, the policy &ldquo;must involve a significant event and not merely a minor or incidental aspect of the news report,&rdquo; adding that &ldquo;expressions of opinion or errors stemming from mistakes are not actionable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Though these former officials hold diverse views on many policy issues, they are united in their belief that the news distortion policy violates <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/first-amendment\/\">First Amendment<\/a> principles, chills broadcaster speech, and can be exploited for partisan purposes,&rdquo; the Protect Democracy Project wrote.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The petition arose after the agency reprimanded ABC News for its alleged inaction against Kimmel after he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-can-dig-up-more-evidence-on-the-origins-of-covid-19\/\" title=\"DOJ Can Dig Up More Evidence On The Origins Of Covid-19\">made controversial comments suggesting<\/a> that Kirk&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/26098863-tyler-robinson-tjr-information\/\">suspected killer<\/a> was part of the MAGA movement and not a radicalized left-winger, despite <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/crime\/3805222\/antifascist-sayings-written-charlie-kirk-shooter-bullet-casings\/\">reports suggesting the latter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;FCC Chairman Brendan Carr&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/digital-future-daily\/2025\/09\/23\/the-obscure-fcc-rule-driving-the-kimmel-argument-00576608\">recent invocation<\/a> of the policy to threaten <em>ABC<\/em> and Disney for airing late-night host Jimmy Kimmel&rsquo;s commentary about Charlie Kirk&rsquo;s murder &mdash; a clear example of how the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >policy enables government officials<\/a> to target outlets for perceived critical coverage,&rdquo; the organization added.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The FCC invoked the policy against <em>CBS<\/em> <em>News<\/em> in February, after it was alleged that its news program <em>60 Minutes<\/em> intentionally deceived viewers through edits made to an interview with former Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3312388\/60-minutes-releases-kamala-harris-transcript-fcc\/\">Kamala Harris<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/3826256\/believe-in-free-speech-fcc-jimmy-kimmel\/\"><strong>YOU EITHER BELIEVE IN FREE SPEECH, OR YOU DON&rsquo;T&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/3463072\/trump-cbs-paramount-payment-lawsuit-skydance-merger\/\">CBS News&rsquo;s<\/a> parent company, Paramount, agreed to a $16 million settlement with the president in June, months after <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3232916\/trump-picks-brendan-carr-for-chairman-of-fcc\/\">Trump<\/a> sued the outlet.<\/p>\n<p>The group has not said whether it would take legal action if the petition is ignored or rejected by the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/3466564\/brendan-carr-fcc-new-gop-future-us-infrastructure\/\">Trump<\/a> administration. However, Sohn affirmed that if the petition were to be ignored, it would give the organization a stronger basis for a lawsuit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former FCC chiefs urge repeal of &#8216;news distortion&#8217; policy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4015,"featured_media":2510225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Jimmy-Kimmel-3.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[6371,67037,32311,67038,3634],"class_list":["post-2510223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-censorship","tag-communication-officials","tag-free-speech","tag-repeal-policy","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Jimmy-Kimmel-3.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4015"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2510223"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2510227,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2510223\/revisions\/2510227"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2510225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2510223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2510223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2510223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}