Media Corruption

Media Distort New Movements?

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Article in FAIR by Raina Lipsitz

Headline:  “Corporate Media Portray DSA’s Grassroots Organizing as a Sinister Conspiracy”

“. . .The ‘takeover’ language is telling: The corporate press sees any assertion of agency on the part of everyday people as a threat to establishment interests. The Free Press (7/21/26) sounded the alarm in an article headlined ‘What the Movement Taking Over the Democratic Party Wants.’ And Fox News (7/27/26) went further with a story headlined ‘[US Rep. Steve] Scalise Warns ‘Bolshevik Revolution’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/corporate-media-portray-dsas-grassroots-organizing-as-a-sinister-conspiracy/

Rt. Media Snake Oil

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Article in Media Matters by Helena Hind, 8/14/26

Headline: “MAHA and right-wing media revive debunked claim about the COVID vaccine and miscarriages to attack Dr. Fauci”

Subhead:  “Media figures spread a false claim that the COVID-19 vaccine caused an 82% miscarriage rate, calling the vaccine an ‘abortion shot’ and saying, ‘Fauci belongs in prison’”

“A press release from two Republican senators containing texts from Dr. Anthony Fauci has revived a bogus claim — based on a flawed interpretation of a 2021 study — that the COVID-19 vaccine caused an 82% miscarriage rate among pregnant people who took it before 20 weeks of gestation. Right-wing media figures, MAHA organizations, and online wellness influencers have latched onto the debunked claim. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/maha-and-right-wing-media-revive-debunked-claim-about-covid-vaccine-and

Can’t Pay to Play in Media Now

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Headline: ” Top Forbes editor reportedly fired after receiving $6m from business associate”

Subhead: “Randall Lane left his job last month after accepting money from founder of firm that does business with magazine”

“The top editor of Forbes left his job last month and was reportedly dismissed for accepting $6m from the founder of a firm that does business with the magazine.

“The New York Times reported this week that Randall Lane was paid by RJ Shook, whose company, Shook Research, worked with Forbes since 2016 to publish rankings of wealth advisers. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/aug/13/forbes-editor-fired

Pay Money Get Info?

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Article in Al Jazeera by Staff and AP, 8/12/26

Headline:  “Media groups sue Trump over paid access to public social media posts”

Subhead:  “Lawsuit claims Trump profits unfairly by charging up to $100,000 monthly for exclusive access to presidential posts.”

“The publication The Intercept and the nonprofit Freedom of the Press Foundation have filed a federal lawsuit against United States President Donald Trump to block his social media service from selling advance access to his posts.

“Court filings on Wednesday argue that the subscription-based service would restrict access to matters of public interest. . .”

“Critics have pointed out that Trump uses his Truth Social account to announce policy changes that could have effects on the economy. Trump’s comments, for instance, about the US-Israel war on Iran have sent ripples through global oil markets.”

Read the full article at:

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/8/12/media-groups-sue-trump-over-paid-access-to-public-social-media-posts

FCC Moving Further Right

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Article in Poynter by Tom Jones, 8/11/26

Headline:  “Opinion | Trump’s FCC is poised for a further shift to the right”

Subhead:  “Trump’s latest nominee could give Republicans enough votes to conduct business without the commission’s lone Democrat”

“In a move that could further politicize the Federal Communications Commission, President Donald Trump has nominated Danielle Thumann Severs, a longtime aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, to fill one of the agency’s two vacant seats.

“Axios’ Sara Fischer writes, ‘If confirmed by the Senate, Thumann Severs would make it much easier for the Republican-led FCC to hold and pass votes unilaterally without any Democratic friction’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/trump-nominated-danielle-thumann-severs-fcc/

FCC Free Speech Threat?

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 8/6/26

Headline:  “Free-Speech Advocates Mark Out Chairman Carr’s History of Censorship as the FCC Convenes Its August Meeting”

“On Thursday, sign-holding volunteers and advocates marked out FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s disturbing history of censorship outside the entrance to the agency’s Washington headquarters. . .”

“The Corruption Walk exposes the FCC chairman’s role as President Donald Trump’s censorship czar. This shameful history, recounted in a series of 11 signs, details the chairman’s corrupt attempts to silence and bully any media that refuse to bow to Trump’s anti-democratic White House agenda. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/free-speech-advocates-mark-out-chairman-carrs-history-censorship-fcc-convenes-its-august

More Media Agglomeration?

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Article in CNN Business by Brian Stelter, 7/15/26\

Headline: “FCC moves to deliver long-sought win for Trump-aligned broadcasters”

“The Federal Communications Commission is changing its rules so that local TV station owners can get much, much bigger. . .”

“Carr announced on Wednesday that the FCC will vote next month to repeal its national broadcast ownership rule, which prohibits a single company from reaching more than 39% of US TV households.

Read the full article at:

https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/15/media/fcc-carr-trump-broadcasters-sinclair-nexstar

FCC Hobby, Getting Gifts?

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Article in AlterNet by Corey G. Johnson – ProPublica, 7/15/26

Headline:  “Busted: Paramount gave FCC officials gifts while seeking approval for billion-dollar dea

“The rich and famous who filed into the Kennedy Center’s opera house in December. . .”

“Federal Communications Commissioner Olivia Trusty cast a decisive vote approving Paramount’s historic $8 billion merger with Skydance Media. Now, the commissioner and a guest enjoyed the star-studded celebration thanks to tickets gifted to her by Paramount worth more than $12,000. . .

“The other commissioner who approved the merger watched from a prized perch. FCC Chair Brendan Carr and his wife sat in a private skybox with Paramount CEO David Ellison and other executives from Paramount and CBS. Such seats sold for $125,000 a ticket, according to Kennedy Center guidelines. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.alternet.org/fcc-paramount/

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Article in Daily Kos by Lisa Needham, 7/15/26

Headline:  “Trump’s FCC cronies get in on the sweet bribe action”

“Why should President Donald Trump have all the fun of extorting money from people with business before the government? How ‘bout letting the folks in charge of the Federal Communications Commission get a taste, hmmm?

“ProPublica broke the news that both FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty and FCC Chair Brendan Carr got a little treat. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/7/15/800070473/news/trumps-fcc-cronies-get-in-on-the-sweet-bribe-action/

Stomping Out Reporting?

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Article in The Guardian by Margaret Sullivan, 7/14/26

Headline: “With New York Times subpoenas, Trump is brazenly escalating his attacks on the press”

Subhead:  “Federal agents showed up at reporters’ homes, targeting journalists for doing exactly what the first amendment protects”

“To non-journalists, receiving a government subpoena is a serious thing but probably not a violation of basic rights. . .”

” ‘“When the public’s right to know is crushed, as the Trump administration is trying to do … all of us suffer irreparable harm,’ responded Stephen Adler, chairperson of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/14/new-york-times-subpoenas-trump-media

WaPo Tipping the Scale?

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Article in FAIR by Pete Tucker, 7/9/26

Headline:  “One Year Into Clampdown, WaPo Opinion Cheers for MAGA, Billionaires and AI”

“It’s been an eventful year since Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos tapped Adam O’Neal for the prestigious job of Post Opinions editor. O’Neal was an unusual hire, a 33-year-old with little by way of managerial experience. But O’Neal had a redeeming quality: He was ready to shill for Bezos, and the man Bezos has been desperately wooing, President Donald Trump. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://fair.org/home/one-year-into-the-clampdown-wapo-opinion-cheers-for-maga-billionaires-and-ai/