PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr is accusing the multinational mass media corporation Comcast—which owns NBC News, CNBC, and MSNBC among other media properties—of “news distortion” regarding coverage of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant and MS-13 gang member deported by the Trump administration.
👥 Who’s Involved: Brendan Carr, Comcast, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, and White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung.
📍 Where & When: The FCC Chairman leveled the accusation in a post on X (formerly Twitter) late Wednesday after MSNBC refused to provide live coverage of a White House press briefing featuring angel mom Patty Morin.
💬 Key Quote: “Comcast outlets spent days misleading the American public—implying that Abrego Garcia was merely a law-abiding U.S. citizen, just a regular ‘Maryland man,'” Carr wrote, adding: “Comcast knows that federal law requires its licensed operations to serve the public interest. News distortion doesn’t cut it.”
⚠️ Impact: The accusations have rekindled tensions over media responsibility, prompted criticism from former Trump officials, and have implications for Comcast’s future operations, particularly regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and potential mergers.
IN FULL:
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr accused Comcast of misleading the public through its coverage concerning the deportation of the illegal immigrant and MS-13 gang member, Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The corporate media has attempted to present Abrego Garcia in a sympathetic light, labeling him a “Maryland father” and “Maryland resident,” while ignoring the El Salvadoran national’s dubious history and affiliation with MS-13.
“Comcast outlets spent days misleading the American public—implying that Abrego Garcia was merely a law-abiding U.S. citizen, just a regular ‘Maryland man.’ When the truth comes out, they ignore it,” Carr wrote on X (formerly Twitter) late Wednesday. He continued: “Comcast knows that federal law requires its licensed operations to serve the public interest. News distortion doesn’t cut it.”
“Abrego Garcia came to America illegally from El Salvador, was validated as a member of the violent MS-13 gang—a transnational criminal organization—and was denied bond by an immigration court for failure to show he would not pose a danger to others,” the FCC Chairman stated, adding: “Why does Comcast ignore these facts of obvious public interest?”
Carr’s comments were in response to a post by White House Communications Director Steven Cheung that noted MSNBC and CNN declined to carry a White House press conference where angel mom Patty Morin spoke on the horrific details of her daughter Rachel Morin’s rape and murder at the hands of Victor Martinez-Hernandez, an illegal immigrant and fugitive from El Salvador. The corporate media have repeatedly attempted to downplay reports of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, a fact emphasized by Vice President J.D. Vance last October during an exchange with ABC journalist Martha Raddatz.
Notably, the FCC website states that, while its authority over allegations of news distortion is relatively narrow, the regulatory agency can investigate a media network if there is “evidence showing that the broadcast news report was deliberately intended to mislead viewers or listeners.”
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