Rt Wing Media

Shaping the Media

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Article in Mediaite by Kathryn Wilkens, 3/27/26

Headline:  “ ‘Trump Is Winning’: FCC Chair Boasts He’s Remaking the Media by Pushing Out Left-Leaning Figures”

“During a Friday CPAC appearance, FCC Chair Brendan Carr bragged that he’s remaking the media by pushing out left-leaning figures, declaring, ‘[President Donald] Trump is winning.’

“ ‘When he ran for office, he ran directly at the fake news media,’ said Carr. ‘He said, “You don’t get to decide what we say, what we think, how we’re gonna vote inside the voting booth.” President Trump took on the fake news media, and President Trump is winning.’

“Look at the results so far,” he continued. “PBS — defunded. NPR — defunded. Joy Reid — gone from MSNBC. Sleepy-eyed Chuck Todd — gone. Jim Acosta — gone. John Dickerson — gone.”

“[Stephen] Colbert is leaving,” Carr continued. “CBS is under new ownership, and soon enough, CNN is gonna have new ownership as well.” After this list, cheers could be heard from the audience.

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/trump-is-winning-fcc-chair-boasts-hes-remaking-the-media-by-pushing-out-left-leaning-figures/

ICE & Rt. Wing Media

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Article in Media Matters by Gideon Taaffe & Sage Hodil, 3/27/26

Headline:  “Right-wing media are calling for ICE to ‘surround the polls’ in midterms”

Subhead:  “Right-wing media figures claim Democrats are ‘basically admitting they’re cheating’ by opposing ICE at polling stations. But noncitizen voting is a fake problem and ICE has racially profiled US citizens.”

“Right-wing media personalities are pushing for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be deployed to polling stations during the 2026 midterm elections, claiming it will ‘fix the fraud’ of alleged noncitizen voting and suggesting the only reason Democrats oppose the idea is that ‘they want to cheat’ and ‘protect illegals’ voting rights.’ Department of Homeland Security officials, meanwhile, have put out mixed messaging regarding whether or not the department will consider this course of action.

“In reality, according to experts, instances of noncitizen voting are negligible and the presence of ICE agents at polling stations would be illegal, as it could intimidate voters into staying away and have a ‘chilling effect’. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/voter-fraud-and-suppression/right-wing-media-are-calling-ice-surround-polls-midterms

Rt. Wing Media Losing Stock?

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Article in Media Matters, 3/26/26

Headline:  “Right-wing media accused Trump of ‘obvious’ stock market manipulation”

Subhead:  “Right-wing media also suspect someone close to Trump of insider trading, asserting “clearly there’s somebody that had some information”

“Right-wing media figures accused President Donald Trump of manipulating the market after stocks surged following his March 23 social media post claiming that the war in Iran was winding down. Additionally, oil and gas futures purchases spiked just before Trump’s announcement about a seemingly nonexistent ‘resolution’ with Iran, leading some in right-wing media to suggest that people close to the president, or even within Trump’s administration, were guilty of insider trading. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/right-wing-media-accused-trump-obvious-stock-market-manipulation

Pay to Play Journalism

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Article in The Bulwark by Will Somer, 3/23/26

Headline:  “Folks, We’ve Got Yet Another Right-Wing Media Payola Scandal”

Subhead:  “This one involves Jack Abramoff’s crypto venture!”

“HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST to bribe a Daily Caller writer for positive coverage? It could be cheaper than you think.

“According to a newly unearthed ledger kept by a Washington lobbyist who tracked his payments to conservative bloggers, it took only $500 to buy a story in the publication, which was one of a handful caught in the latest payola scandal. And though the story appeared under the byline of the Caller’s managing editor, prosecutors who unearthed the ledger say it was actually ghostwritten by the company that effectively bought the coverage. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/another-right-wing-media-payola-scandal-cryptocurrency-abramoff-darling-andrade

Journalists Cover Which War?

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Article in FAIR by Pete Tucker, 2/20/26

Headline:  “Pete Hegseth’s War on Journalists (and Iran Too)”

Subhead:  ” ‘Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appears to be in the midst of two conflicts, one…in Iran, and the other with the American free press over its coverage of the widening Middle East war.’ – MS NOW‘s Sydney Carruth (3/13/26)”

“Last fall, nearly the entire Pentagon press corps was banned from the Pentagon after refusing to sign Pete Hegseth’s loyalty oath, which would have bound them to only report information “authorized” by the government (FAIR.org, 9/23/25). They were quickly replaced by pundits from Hegseth-approved outlets like One America News, Gateway Pundit and Lindell TV, which is ‘Pillow Guy’ Mike Lindell’s pet project.

“But once the Iran War got underway, it dawned on Hegseth that a Defense secretary needs to communicate with the whole country, not just the narrow slice of it reached by his favorite right-wing pundits. . .”

Read the full story at:

https://fair.org/home/pete-hegseths-war-on-journalists-and-iran-too/

Media Matters Says Right Wing Media Busy

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Article by Matt Gertz in Media Matters 3/20/26

Headline: “Prime-time Fox shows gave less than a minute of airtime to the Pentagon’s $200 billion Iran funding request”

“Fox News isn’t bothering to sell the staggering cost of the ill-conceived war President Donald Trump launched against Iran. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/prime-time-fox-shows-gave-less-minute-airtime-pentagons-200-billion-iran-funding

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Article in Media Matters by John Knefel 3/20/26

Headline: “As Iran war drags on, right-wing media lash out at NATO and Iranians who haven’t overthrown their government”

Subhead: “When it comes to assigning blame for the Iran war spiraling out of control, MAGA media have found convenient scapegoats who aren’t named Trump”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/iran-war-drags-right-wing-media-lash-out-nato-and-iranians-who-havent-overthrown

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Article in Media Matters by Allison Fisher & Ilana Berger

Headline:  “As oil prices continue to rise, right-wing media urge Trump to seize Kharg Island

Subhead:  “Experts warn this type of escalation could further destabilize the global economy and put troops in harms way”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/oil-prices-continue-rise-right-wing-media-urge-trump-seize-kharg-island

Rt. Wing Media Upset?

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Article in Media Matters by Noah Dowe, Alex Guiden & Ben Van Bloem, 3/18/26

Headline: “Some right-wing media figures are urging Trump to declare early victory and leave Iran”

Subhead:  “Newsmax host Michael Savage: ‘Is it possible we could just pack up and go home? Or must we kill half the population in the name of peace?’ “

“As President Donald Trump’s war with Iran continues, some right-wing commentators are urging the administration to ‘declare victory’ and ‘get out’ of Iran ‘before it gets much worse’. . .”

“Some right-wing figures are fearful of what a military quagmire in the Middle East would “do to us at the midterms,” and a number of right-wing media personalities are now urging the administration to save face by declaring victory. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/some-right-wing-media-figures-are-urging-trump-declare-early-victory-and-leave

Hegseth Patriotic Media

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Article in New Republic by Greg Sargent, 3/13/26

Headline: “Raging at Media, Pete Hegseth Just Said the Quiet Part Out Loud”

Subhead:  “He wants ‘patriotic’ coverage of the Iran war. He doesn’t understand: In a democracy, coverage that asks difficult questions of the government is itself ‘patriotic.’ ”

“Pete Hegseth wants to live in a world in which the American military can drop bombs on scores of schoolchildren and not face serious media scrutiny over it. And he just might get that world soon enough. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://newrepublic.com/article/207760/pete-hegseth-iran-war-patriotic-media-coverage

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Article in Mediaite by Kathryn Wilkens 3/13/26

Headline:  Newsmax Host Greg Kelly Rips Hegseth’s Iran ‘Trash Talk’: Save It for Your ‘Podcast Bros’

“In a Friday X post, Newsmax host Greg Kelly ripped Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his “trash talk” amid the ongoing U.S. conflict with Iran, emphasizing that he should save that type of rhetoric for his ‘podcast bros.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/online/newsmax-host-greg-kelly-rips-hegseths-iran-trash-talk-save-it-for-your-podcast-bros/

Strait-Jacketed News?

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Article in Media Matters by Matt Gertz, 3/13/26

Headline:  “Dire Strait: Trump’s Fox Cabinet ignored Hormuz in the month before the U.S. attacked Iran”

“It’s little wonder that President Donald Trump didn’t seem to worry about the Strait of Hormuz in planning his war of choice against Iran: His Fox News advisers utterly ignored the possibility that Iran could respond by closing that critical shipping lane as they urged the president to launch the attack last month.

“Roughly 20% of global crude oil and liquified natural gas, along with a ‘dominant’ share of global fertilizers, reach world markets by flowing from the Persian Gulf through the narrow strait between Iran and Oman and into the Indian Ocean. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/dire-strait-trumps-fox-cabinet-ignored-hormuz-month-us-attacked-iran

Media and Regime Collapse

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Article in Media Matters by John Knefel and Sophie Lawton, 3/12/26

Headline: “Right-wing media embrace “regime collapse” in Iran”

Subhead: “Fox’s Jack Keane: ‘You’re going to take that regime and put it on a pathway for its eventual collapse, and what follows after that is not particularly clear. And I think that’s OK.’ ”

“Prominent right-wing media figures have embraced regime collapse as a desirable, or at least acceptable, outcome of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Although most of these commentators are light on specifics, in many cases they acknowledge that what they’re calling for is something that looks more like a failed state than a transitional government. . .”

“. . .on March 4, prime-time host [Fox News] Jesse Watters praised the goal of regime collapse twice while cheerleading for the war in general. ‘Operation Epic Fury has entered a new phase — a shock and we campaign to trigger regime collapse,’ Watters said. ‘Anything can happen, but this war is off to the best start in American military history.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediamatters.org/us-iran-relations/right-wing-media-embrace-regime-collapse-iran