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US headlines offended Trump. He’d better not watch Indian news channels’ Iran war coverage

Trump was enraged by what he called 'misleading headlines' about five US tanker planes reportedly hit in Saudi Arabia. He singled out NYT, WSJ, and other “Lowlife” newspapers.

It doesn’t happen only in India; it happens in the United States of America too.

Last week, this column dealt with the Indian government’s order to halt the publication of news television viewership ratings (TRPs) for four weeks, because it thought this move would curtail what it believed was  “sensational” coverage of the ongoing war between the US, Israel, and Iran.

On Saturday 14 March, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US, Brendan Carr, threatened to revoke broadcasters’ licenses for what he called “running hoaxes and news distortions.” He then warned them to “correct course before their license renewals come up.”

For the record, FCC’s authority over content standards is limited to over-the-air broadcasts on independent television stations; it doesn’t extend to other forms of programming, such as cable networks or streaming platforms. However, the FCC does have authority over the purchase and sale of media networks that hold FCC broadcast licences.

The FCC chairman’s reprimand came shortly after US President Donald Trump had launched his own personal missile attack against a favourite target: “The Fake News Media.”

Enraged by what he called “misleading headlines” about five US tanker planes reportedly hit in Saudi Arabia, he singled out The New York Times (NYT) and The Wall Street Journal for (WSJ) as well as other “Lowlife” newspapers for “terrible reporting” in a tweet on Truth Social.

The headline that so offended Trump in the WSJ read: ‘Five Air Force Refueling Planes Hit in Iranian Strike on Saudi Arabia’.

The FCC’s threat is strong stuff, stronger than the Indian government’s suspension of TRPs. So strong in fact that The Washington Post published an opinion on the FCC’s overreaction.

And the UK news agency, Reuters, analysed the Trump administration’s attack on the news media in this article: “Trump and his allies use familiar tactic to help Iran war messaging: attacking the press.”

At least one commentator on Al Jazeera, Frank Smyth, termed it “unprecedented.”

“No FCC has threatened to revoke a licence for coverage the government wants,” he said. This was “dictatorship behaviour,” he added.

The FCC warning attracted the attention of the international media. Why, our very own The Times of India thought it serious enough to write an editorial: ‘Wars, Govts, Facts’. It said that President Trump is “cheesed off that…various newspapers and TV news channels continue to report on his actions, independently and critically…American press is doing its job, in digging beyond their govt’s denials.”

Also read: I&B’s TRP freeze can’t stop Indian news channels beating war drums—it’s ‘khooni takkar’

Iran war on Indian TV news 

Indian news channels would make Trump 

If President Trump were to read Indian news media or watch Indian TV news channels, he would be even angrier (if that’s possible) with American broadcasters and papers.

Traditionally, the Indian news media supports Indian governments in times of conflict. From the Kargil War to Operation Sindoor, TV news coverage in particular was gung-ho: ‘Indian Navy hits Karachi port,’ was an India Today headline during Operation Sindoor.

In the US-Israel-Iran war, Indian TV news channels and most newspapers have been sympathetic towards the Indian government, so much so that last week, TV news channels claimed that India was the only country allowed by Iran to sail its oil frigates through the Strait of Hormuz because of Indian diplomacy. Untrue.

The American news media, on the other hand, has consistently questioned the goals and reasons for Trump’s war on Iran – even staunch Trump supporters such as podcaster Joe Rogen and broadcaster Tucker Carlson have opposed the war. Rogen called it “insane” while Carlson said, “This is not the United States’ war’.”

The American news media is more critical of US involvement in wars after it was criticised for its role in promoting the 2003 invasion of Iraq by US-led coalition forces on the false claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. A Poynter Institute study reflected on what happened in this article, “When the press amplified false claims about Iraq, it failed its highest duty — and fueled a war”.’

This time, the US news media sought clarity of vision and purpose and found them wanting: as The Washington Post wrote: “White House rationale for war keeps changing”.

This perhaps explains why the US news media has not given its unqualified support to the Iran war – and why President Trump and the FCC are threatening them.

Also read: Even war is melodrama for Hindi news channels. Music, AI images, ‘ailaan-e-jung’

Trump vs US news media

Trump’s attack on the news media during the Iran war is all of a piece with his earlier charges. He constantly refers to the ‘Fake news media’ and rails against it in social media posts.

He has filed suits against CBS News and BBC for interviews — CBS for an ‘edited’ interview with former US Vice President Kamala Harris and BBC for editing one of his speeches.

Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s show was suspended indefinitely by ABC (and its parent company Disney) for remarks on the killing of US right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, after FCC’s Carr threatened to act against ABC and Disney over the remarks.

Trump officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth expressed their displeasure with the US news media. Hegseth went after CNN, saying “…the sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better”. Ellison, CEO Paramount, has a bid to acquire Warner Bros who own CNN pending approval from the Trump administration.

Under Hegseth, there has been a curtailment of access to the Pentagon when the Department of Defense introduced rules that journalists only publish “approved” information. When NYT, WaPo and CNN refused, they were stripped of their long-standing office spaces in the Pentagon.

Over 1,000 journalists working at the Voice of America radio lost their jobs after the Trump administration ‘eliminated’ the United States Agency for Global Media. And you know what’s funny? Trump loves the media as much as he appears to hate it. He is the ultimate master media manipulator. He has used the media to promote himself and his opinions more successfully than any other politician. He is headline news every day, every hour.

He is also the most accessible President to the news media. He holds press conferences, impromptu Q&As, and phone conversations. He speaks to journalists more than any other president did before him.

He’s never camera shy – in fact, quite the opposite. He courts the camera openly and assiduously. He gives interviews to those he thinks oppose him like CNN or NYT.

Love him or hate him, President Donald Trump always makes news.

The author tweets @shailajabajpai. Views are personal.

(Edited by Prashant Dixit)

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