FCC chair warns broadcasters against airing unscientific polls

Carr's warning puts stations on notice that airing polls without a sound basis could breach their regulatory duties.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr used a post on X to caution broadcasters against airing so-called fake polls, a complaint of the kind President Trump has often voiced about the press. Carr argued that journalists and broadcasters have been repeating these surveys without flagging that they lack any scientific or genuine basis, and he said stations risk running afoul of their regulatory duties if they keep airing them. He urged outlets to give viewers more context on polls they have already covered. The article notes that a small polling firm was recently exposed as a hoax, that a comparable case happened in August, and that news organizations have already reported on those hoaxes and supplied the context Carr is calling for.