Former FCC chiefs condemn Brendan Carr's poll threats as 'truly outrageous'

A bipartisan group of former high-ranking FCC officials has condemned FCC chairman Brendan Carr’s warning to broadcasters over their reporting on political polls, calling it “yet another truly outrageous attempt to censor and control the information available to Americans as they prepare to vote”.

The statement, issued this week via Protect Democracy and signed by a dozen former officials, accused Carr of “a campaign of intimidation and retaliation against journalists to chill speech the administration dislikes”. It added: “Good-faith reporting on public polls — even ones that turn out to be made up — is not a violation of the FCC’s news distortion or hoax rules. And the FCC has zero authority to dictate editorial decisions.”

Signatories include Reagan-era FCC chair Mark Fowler, Obama-era chair Tom Wheeler, and Clinton-appointed commissioner Gloria Tristani. Many had previously petitioned the FCC to rescind the news-distortion policy, warning it violates the First Amendment.

The condemnation follows Carr’s warning on X on 21 October that broadcasters airing “entirely fake polls and suppression polls” ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections could breach their regulatory obligations under the FCC’s news-distortion rules. He gave no evidence and named no polls.

The warning came a day after the self-professed polling firm Wedgewood Polls admitted it was a “fictional entity” that had fabricated data, and as a Reuters/Ipsos poll put President Donald Trump’s approval at a record low of 31%.

FCC commissioner Anna Gomez, the commission’s sole Democrat, objected: “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.” Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said news broadcasters have “a First Amendment right to report polling data, even if it proves to be inaccurate”.

Sources

• Protect Democracy — Former high-ranking FCC officials call Carr’s intimidation of broadcasters an outrageous attempt to control information: https://protectdemocracy.org/work/fcc-carr-political-polling-broadcasters/
• CNN — With Trump polling at new lows, FCC chair issues warning about ‘fake polls’: https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/21/media/trump-polls-fcc-brendan-carr-wedgewood?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_meta
• Reuters (via Devdiscourse) — FCC chair says broadcast networks could violate regulatory obligations by airing ‘fake polls’: https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/international/3995922-fcc-chair-says-broadcast-networks-could-violate-regulatory-obligations-by-airing-fake-polls?amp
• Techdirt — Brendan Carr, A Weak Coward, Threatens Journalists For Covering Polls Trump Doesn’t Like: https://www.techdirt.com/2026/10/22/brendan-carr-a-weak-coward-threatens-journalists-for-covering-polls-trump-doesnt-like/