FCC Chair Warns Kimmel and Colbert Could Face Hoax, News Distortion Scrutiny

Trump-appointed FCC chair Brendan Carr is expanding his regulatory pressure campaign against broadcast late-night shows, suggesting Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert could face scrutiny under rarely enforced “broadcast hoax” and “news distortion” rules while signaling that enforcement of political guest regulations may increasingly be routed through local television stations.

In a new interview with Fox News Digital, Carr defended the FCC’s new guidance on equal-time requirements for political candidates, framing it as a return to long-standing law rather than a new policy.

“Going back at least to the 1950s, Congress put rules on the books,” requiring broadcasters to provide equal opportunities to competing candidates, Carr said. “If you have one candidate on, then you gotta put the other one on and give them equal opportunities unless you’re bona fide news.”

Carr argued that broadcasters have for years overstretched the so-called “bona fide news” exemption, assuming that late-night and daytime talk shows automatically qualify.

“The problem is that exception has come to swallow the rule,” he said, adding that many programs have never submitted evidence demonstrating that they meet the exemption’s standards.

The FCC issued new guidance in January warning that candidate appearances on entertainment programs may not automatically qualify for equal-time exemptions, prompting on-air pushback from both Kimmel and Colbert, who accused Carr of attempting to intimidate political comedy and chill speech.

Asked about their response, Carr said he does not watch their shows, quipping, “I don’t have difficulty falling asleep on my own.” He added that those who object to the law “can go to Congress and ask Congress to change it. But my job is to apply it.”

Carr went on to say that compliance with equal-time rules is only one of several obligations tied to broadcast licenses. He warned that hosts who remain on broadcast TV must also adhere to other public-interest regulations, specifically citing FCC prohibitions on broadcast hoaxes and news distortion.

“If Kimmel or Colbert want to continue to do their programming” without such requirements, Carr said, “they can go to a cable channel or a podcast or a streaming service.” But he added that access to broadcast spectrum comes with regulatory responsibilities.

The new comments mark a broadening of Carr’s rhetoric, introducing rarely enforced content-related rules into a dispute that has so far centered on political access and equal-time requirements.

Carr also indicated that the FCC is relying in part on local television stations to pressure networks, rather than pursuing direct enforcement actions.

According to Fox News, Carr said the agency has been working to “strengthen” local stations’ ability to push back against programming decisions by ABC, CBS, and NBC. He suggested that this strategy has already produced “decent results,” likely referring to the boycott of Jimmy Kimmel Live! by Sinclair and Nexstar-owned ABC stations last fall that led to Kimmel’s brief suspension.

In addition, Carr said networks may satisfy equal-time obligations without necessarily booking opposing candidates on the same entertainment programs. He indicated that appearances on news broadcasts or the airing of campaign advertisements could serve as alternatives.