Is US losing the narrative war? Trump ally Brendan Carr threatens media licences over Iran war reporting

Trump's Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to revoke license of the broadcasters over their coverage of the Iran war. He accused news channels of “running hoaxes and news distortions” and warned them 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,” wrote Carr in a Truth Social post. His threat drew a reaction from US Senator Elizabeth Warren, who called the threat illegal intimidation of free speech and termed the move “straight out of the authoritarian playbook”.

He shared a Truth Social post by US President Donald Trump, which criticised the news media coverage of the Iran war, claiming it wants the United States to lose the war. “The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal (in particular), and other Lowlife Papers” and Media actually want us to lose the War,” wrote in a post on Truth Social.

The post specifically referred to a Wall Street Journal article that mentioned five US Air Force refuelling planes had recently been struck and damaged by an Iranian missile at Prince Sultan Air Base. Trump called those reports “intentionally misleading” and claimed that four of the five tankers had “virtually no damage, and are already back in service.”

Trump's Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth complained at length about CNN's coverage of the US-Iran war. He further added that he is looking forward to the management of the network by Trump loyalist David Ellison, who is seeking to acquire Warner Bros Discovery through its Paramount Skydance for $111 billion. This will, in turn, bring CNN under Ellison, who is known for replacing leadership at CBS with conservative journalists.

Also Read: Switzerland denies US military requests to use its airspace amid Iran war

Is the US losing the narrative war?

A CNN poll found that 59 per cent of US citizens oppose the war. The support for the US war on Iran is at 27-38 per cent whch is significantly lower than previous US military adventures, like the Afghanistan war, 88-92 per cent; the Gulf War of 1991, 79-80 per cent; the Iraq war of 2003, 70-76 per cent; the Libya war of 2011, 47 per cent. Even among Republicans its 76 per cent compared to 96 per cent Republicans who backed Afghanistan and 90 per cent backed the Iraq war.

The core problem had been incoherent messaging from the White House and a lack of a compelling grand narrative to mobilise the nation behind the flag. The goals are not clearly articulated to the supporters, and even Trump himself continues to shift the goalpost as the war enters its third week. There is no clear intelligence on Trump's supposed claim that Iran was preparing for an attack. The Western morality of delivering justice to Iranian women from the “Iranian regime” failed in the early hours of the ‘Epic Fury’ as the US struck a girls' school in Minab, killing at least 176 children and staff. The bottom line is that the US has lost both the domestic and international war of narrative. This will seem insignificant right now to the Trump administration and its loyalists, who are still confident in US military might. But it will be damaging if Trump ever considers a ground invasion of Iran. It would require a national draft to mobilise the manpower needed to invade a country as huge as Iran, which will inevitably see civil unrest and might lead to a civil war.