Suppress & Punish Media
2022
2022-05-02 Brendan Carr posted on X, “President Biden is right. Political satire is one of the oldest and most important forms of free speech. It challenges those in power while using humor to draw more people into the discussion. That’s why people in influential positions have always targeted it for censorship”.
https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1521117482303602689
2024 November
2024-11-02 Brendan Carr accused SNL of evading the FCC Equal Time rule in an X post following the announcement that Kamala Harris will be appearing on SNL in the last episode before the presidential election.
https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1852887210330341693
2025 January
2025-01-20 In a section of Project 2025 “A Demonstrated Pattern of Bias”, the publishing attacks NPR as leftist and tyrannical, and calls to eliminate their funding.
https://static.heritage.org/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
2025-01-20 Page 246 of Project 2025 villainizes public broadcasting and calls to hand over independent media to states. On September 15, 2025 Republicans passed a bill to hand independent media outlets over to State department contracts.
https://static.heritage.org/project2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/15/republicans-bill-media-usagm-radio-free-europe-funding
2025-01-20 In his inaugural address, Trump stated, “I will sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America” contrary to his retaliation and suppression campaign.
2025-01-30 Brendan Carr ordered an investigation into NPR and PBS. A headline for TechDirt reads, “Trump’s FCC just used a fake ‘investigation’ to shower AT&T and Elon Musk with billions in valuable spectrum”.
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/30/nx-s1-5281162/fcc-npr-pbs-investigation
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/02/nx-s1-5384790/trump-orders-end-to-federal-funding-for-npr-and-pbs
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/business/media/npr-pbs-fcc-investigation.html
2025 February
2025-02-15 The White House imposed bans on specific media outlets they deem biased or not aligned with the Trump agenda. As an example, any news outlet that refused to refer to the gulf as Gulf of America was banned from the White House press pool.
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/26/nx-s1-5308628/trump-white-house-press-access-voa
https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/news-access-to-press-events/
2025 March
2025-03-14 Trump dismantled the US Agency for Global Media.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvge4l109r3o
2025 June
2025-06-11 Karoline Leavitt claimed that Trump was a champion for the First Amendment at the same time Trump threatened to sue or revoke licenses of networks that didn’t agree with him. She herself revoked press credentials for anyone in the press pool that didn’t refer to the Gulf of Mexico as “Gulf of America”.
https://www.freedomforum.org/trump-white-house-associated-press-first-amendment
https://www.yahoo.com/news/leavitt-storms-press-briefing-over-195442782.html
2025 July
2025-07-17 CBS claimed they cancelled Stephen Colbert for financial reasons.
2025-07-18 As outlined in Project 2025, the Trump administration defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
https://www.npr.org/2025/07/18/g-s1-78150/unprecedented-rescission-bill-defunds-public-media
2025-07-18 Trump celebrated Stephen Colbert’s dismissal and suggested Jimmy Kimmel could be next.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114874422468516376
2025-07-22 Trump tweeted out again that he heard Jimmy Kimmel would be fired and that he wanted Jimmy Fallon fired next.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114897600777919524
https://www.avclub.com/donald-trump-jimmy-fallon-jimmy-kimmel-fired-next-prediction
2025 September
2025-09-10 MSNBC was forced to fire Matthew Dowd for accurately pointing out that Charlie Kirk historically pushed hate rhetoric.
https://apnews.com/article/dowd-msnbc-kirk-comments-e08f349022c9d69171cd575664141075
https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/matthew-dowd-fired-msnbc-charlie-kirk-death-1236514875/
2025-09-14 Mike Lee called to restore legislation designed to silence the media, “In the coming days, I’ll be filing my previously drafted legislation to restore Smith-Mundt, and renaming it the Charlie Kirk Act. Domestic, political, government-funded propaganda must end now”. Glenn Beck responded, “100% on board. Obama made US Govt propaganda legal again. IT MUST BE BANNED. Join mike, call your senators and ask them to back the Charlie Kirk Act”.
2025-09-17 Trump demanded NBC fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, “Do it, NBC.”
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115222372625104790
2025-09-17 FCC Chair Brendan Carr demanded Jimmy Kimmel be indefinitely suspended after Kimmel made comments about the Charlie Kirk shooting.
https://fortune.com/2025/09/18/jimmy-kimmel-misinformation-fcc-brendan-carr-abc-disney/
2025-09-17 Brendan Carr said on a Benny Johnson podcast, “When you look at the conduct that has taken place by Jimmy Kimmel, it appears to be some of the sickest conduct possible…I mean, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action. Frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s gonna be additional war for the FCC ahead”.
2025-09-17 Sinclair Broadcasting demanded the FCC and ABC take further action on Kimmel to make a direct apology to the Kirk family and make a meaningful personal donation to Turning Point USA.
2025-09-17 Sinclair Broadcasting announced they would be replacing the Jimmy Kimmel time slot with a Kirk tribute.
2025-09-18 While on a Scott Jennings podcast Brendan Carr suggested The View could be subject to Equal Time rule violations.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/18/fcc-brendan-carr-the-view-00572178
https://x.com/ScottJenningsKY/status/1968736369670504493
https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1852887210330341693
2025-09-19 Ted Cruz said on his podcast, “If the government gets in the business of saying…’we’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like,’ that will end up bad for conservatives”.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-cruz-fcc-brendan-carr-jimmy-kimmel-goodfellas-trump/
2025-09-19 Trump heckled David Letterman on Truth Social, “He looks like hell, but at least he knew when to quit. LOSER!!!”.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115233841743981161
2025-09-19 Following the cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel, Disney and Hulu lost 1.7 million subscribers and roughly $4B in revenue. Hulu websites began to offer $2.99 a month subscription to salvage some of their customer base.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1wle4dx4qwo
2025-09-21 Following the sharp reaction to cancelling Jimmy Kimmel, Sinclair Broadcast changed its mind about filling the Jimmy Kimmel time slot with the Kirk tribute and had it moved to YouTube.
2025-09-22 The Pentagon issued a new requirement for journalists to sign a pledge not to gather or report on any information unless it is formally authorized for release.
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/20/g-s1-89713/pentagon-new-strict-guidelines-for-media
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/20/pentagon-journalists-restrictions-pledge
2025-09-23 After much backlash, the Jimmy Kimmel show was returned to television.
2025-09-23 Trump threatened ABC for re-airing Jimmy Kimmel, “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back…I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative”.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115256938634035559
2025-09-24 JD Vance commented about Kimmel’s return, “I’m pretty sure that Jimmy Kimmel was back on the air last night, and to the extent that he’s not back on the air it’s because he’s not funny and has terrible ratings. This is not a federal government problem.”
2025 October
2025-10-15 All media outlets except OAN refused to sign Pete Hegseth’s journalist pledge.
https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/pentagon-rules-for-the-press/
2025 December
2025-12-21 Bari Weiss pulled an airing of a 60 Minutes episode covering an investigation into the CECOT detention center in El Salvador.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/dec/26/bari-weiss-60-minutes-el-salvador-prison
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/22/g-s1-103282/cbs-chief-bari-weiss-pulls-60-minutes-story
2025-12-25 Trump made more than 100 Christmas Day posts, including calls to revoke broadcast licenses from critical news outlets.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-broadcast-licenses-terminated-100-negative/
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115772922954148853
2026 January
2026-01-05 The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced it would dissolve itself.
2026-01-13 The FBI searched Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home and seized devices after she reported on DOGE-related layoffs.
https://www.npr.org/2026/01/15/g-s1-106103/fbi-search-washington-post-reporter-home
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/01/14/washington-post-reporter-search/
2026-01-21 The FCC again threatened ABC’s broadcast license over programming involving Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jimmy-kimmel-fcc-threat-response_n_6971dbbbe4b0e15d54cbe2e9
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-68A1.pdf
2026 February
2026-02-16 The FCC chair contacted CBS directly to warn them not to broadcast an interview with James Talarico on the Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert over equal time rules.
https://www.axios.com/2026/02/17/colbert-cbs-talarico-interview-fcc-trump-carr
2026-02-18 The FCC initiated an investigation into The View for broadcasting an interview with James Talarico, also citing the equal time rule. Note: cable networks like Fox and OAN, and conservative talk radio are exempt from this rule.
https://people.com/the-view-fcc-investigation-james-talarico-equal-time-11908898
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2026/02/19/the-view-abc-james-talarico/88758329007/
2026-02-22 Trump threatened Netflix with consequences unless it removed board member Susan Rice.
https://www.axios.com/2026/02/23/trump-netflix-susan-rice
https://theweek.com/business/trump-netflix-susan-rice-state-run-capitalism
2026 March
2026-03-11 The Pentagon banned reporters from taking “unflattering” photos of Hegseth.
https://www.tmz.com/2026/03/11/photographers-barred-after-taking-bad-pete-hegseth-pictures/
2026-03-14 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth criticized media coverage of the Iran conflict and accused reporters of misrepresenting events. One article quoted Hegseth as saying, “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better” in reference to CNN.
https://newrepublic.com/article/207760/pete-hegseth-iran-war-patriotic-media-coverage
https://x.com/atrupar/status/2032430133353591082
https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/12/politics/hormuz-trump-administration-underestimated-iran
https://newrepublic.com/article/207760/pete-hegseth-iran-war-patriotic-media-coverage
2026-03-14 FCC’s Brendan Carr threatened the media and wrote on X, “Broadcasters 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. The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not. And frankly, changing course is in their own business interests since trust in legacy media has now fallen to an all time low of just 9% and are ratings disasters. The American people have subsidized broadcasters to the tune of billions of dollars by providing free access to the nation’s airwaves. It is very important to bring trust back into media, which has earned itself the label of fake news. When a political candidate is able to win a landslide election victory after in the face of hoaxes and distortions, there is something very wrong. It means the public has lost faith and confidence in the media. And we can’t allow that to happen. Time for change!”
https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/2032855414233047172
https://www.cato.org/blog/fcc-threats-fog-war-government-cannot-be-arbiter-truth
https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/post/five-questions-why-fcc-chair-carrs-license-threats-are-empty/
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5786490-fcc-chair-threatens-broadcasters/
2026-03-18 Trump posted, “For all of the Fake News out there, it’s called the SAVE AMERICA ACT, not the SAVE ACT. Nobody knows what the Save Act means!!!”.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116250143939100110
2026 April
2026-04-06 Trump threatened imprisonment against any journalists covering a downed-fighter-jet rescue operation.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/06/politics/journalist-missing-airmen-trump-jail
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/04/06/trump-leak-missing-pilot-jail-threat-media/
2026-04-16 Peter Theil funded Objection, an AI tribunal judge designed to investigate media claims.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAqE03jiff4
SUB WALL https://www.thenational.scot/news/26028483.peter-thiel-sets-sights-media-new-objection-platform/
2026-04-16 Hegseth compared reporters covering the Iran war to the Pharisees, the biblical Jewish group that opposed Jesus.
https://x.com/gretchencarlson/status/2044752887029358926?s=46&t=qjA9BAv6BhOCNlxoiZWFbw
2026-04-17 Former officials told The Atlantic that Kash Patel was erratic, frequently absent, and difficult to manage. Patel threatened legal action against the magazine and filed a $250M defamation lawsuit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpOD12q81cY&list=WL&index=9&t=157s
SUB WALL https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/
https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/20/media/kash-patel-fbi-atlantic-lawsuit-sarah-fitzpatrick
https://www.axios.com/2026/04/20/kash-patel-lawsuit-the-atlantic
2026-04-26 Trump childishly lashed out at news anchor Norah O’Donnell (60 Minutes) for reading portions of the gunman’s manifesto from the Correspondence Dinner shooting.
2026-04-27 Trump and Melania Trump made separate social media posts demanding Jimmy Kimmel’s dismissal, after which the FCC opened an investigation.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/27/us/politics/trump-jimmy-kimmel-abc-widow-joke.html
https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/27/media/kimmel-trump-disney-damaro
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116477838570626860
2026-04-28 Shortly after Trump and First Lady Melania Trump demanded Jimmy Kimmel be fired, the FCC opened an investigation into ABC and Disney for DEI practices.
https://abcnews.com/US/fcc-orders-early-review-abcs-broadcast-licenses/story?id=132466823
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fcc-disney-abc-early-license-renewal-jimmy-kimmel-dei/
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/fcc-threatens-abcs-licenses-as-trumps-call-for-kimmels-firing
2026 May
2026-05-04 The organization Reporters Without Borders released its 2026 Press Freedom index showing the lowest level of free speech in 25 years, with U.S. ranking at number 64.
https://rsf.org/en/2026-rsf-index-press-freedom-25-year-low
2026-05-11 The BBC censored a documentary “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack”.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eh69K_7pAuE
TIMELINE: https://www.camera.org/article/timeline-the-bbc-gaza-documentary-controversy
https://www.bbc.co.uk/helpandfeedback/corrections_clarifications/
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clydv5yngq4o
2026-05-27 After Bari Weiss pulled a story from 60-Minutes about CECOT, reporting correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi wrote in a parting statement, “In the coming days, network leadership may attempt to hide behind corporate euphemisms like ‘modernization’ and ‘restructuring’ to explain away my departure. Don’t be misled. This was not a routine corporate transition; it was a deliberate choice to penalize a journalist for refusing to sanitize factually accurate reporting, and it sends a chilling message to the entire newsroom”.
TIMESTAMP 9:33 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yUjicp6VqU
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/may/27/60-minutes-sharyn-alfonsi
2026-05-28 Student journalist Santiago Campos delivered a speech during a news Emmy award ceremony, “…as corporate elites take hold over the very pipes through which our information flows, journalism that serves people becomes increasingly harder to come by, yet ever more crucial. And what people want is the truth. So if at any time you hesitate to utter the word ‘genocide’ or remain silent in the face of blatant lies, remember to ask yourself who is this for”.
https://www.the-independent.com/bulletin/news/santiago-campos-cbs-news-bari-weiss-b2985217.html
TIMESTAMP 10:50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yUjicp6VqU
2026-05-29 Bari Weiss and Larry Ellison hollowed out 60-Minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8lUddU6_yM&list=WL&index=8
2026 June
2026-06-02 Hegseth classified the Pentagon press office and physically barred journalists from entering. Reporters Without Borders said, “No matter how petulant Pete gets, journalists will continue their tenacious reporting and hold the Pentagon accountable for the money, operations, and lives they impact every day”.
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5904725-pentagon-bars-reporters-press-office/
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/01/pentagon-classified-area-reporters-00945550
2026-06-03 CBS fired Scott Pelley from 60 Minutes.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/scott-pelley-fired-from-60-minutes-deepening-turmoil-at-cbs-news
2026 July
2026-07-11 The DOJ subpoenaed New York Times reporters for reporting about Air Force One.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-nyt-air-force-one-qatari-jet-e2c798a95a1e41077d2cae969774df91
https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/11/politics/new-york-times-trump-subpoenas-journalists
2026-07-20 Trump’s DOJ targeted the New York Times, seeking phone records from both the journalists and their family members.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYhGpDauJGA&list=WL&index=4
https://apnews.com/article/new-york-times-justice-department-trump-88f5ceca88dcdd19779e6f61abedf337
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/21/trump-phone-records-new-york-times-journalists
2026-07-21 The Trump administration demanded financial records and internal communications from BreakThrough News after they reported on ICE detention centers, foreign policy, and Palestine.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/21/trump-financial-details-bbc-lawsuit
https://freedom.press/issues/house-subpoena-of-breakthrough-news-threatens-press-freedom/
2026-07-23 The Trump administration’s Republican led House Ways and Means Committee issued subpoenas for phone records from not just Breakthrough News, but also from The People’s Forum, and Tricontinental Institute for Social Research.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/house-gop-subpoena-left-wing-news
https://apnews.com/article/usmediatimesair-force-one-42429e4d4da8accc42b6c3ddf3f4fed5
FOX ‘NEWS’ TAKE https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-panel-subpoenas-3-left-wing-groups-probe-39m-tied-marxist-tycoon-neville-singham
2026-07-24 The Trump administration withdrew subpoenas for New York Times journalists’ phone records. This came after a stern reprimand from a judge.
https://apnews.com/article/usmediatimesair-force-one-42429e4d4da8accc42b6c3ddf3f4fed5
SUB WALL https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/business/media/new-york-times-subpoenas-withdraw.html