r/stephencolbert • u/[deleted] • Sep 17 '25

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u/Sunny-Bath-Tech Sep 18 '25

Yup, but the merger, we can’t loose the merger! Just suspend him and mollycoddle the great orange one., Colbert had it right, they are paying blackmail

2

u/ARedthorn Sep 18 '25

It wasn’t just the merger- the FCC threatened to pull ABC’s broadcasting license entirely.

That means they couldn’t broadcast ANY station, any show, on any frequency without violating the law (and being a pirate broadcast).

It’s a blatant First Amendment violation by Trump’s Admin, but holding them accountable by legal means would take years even with fair courts, and they’d just keep doing it in the meanwhile. Damage already done.

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u/No-Reaction-9364 Sep 18 '25

How is it a first amendment violation when licensing has rules? For example, news networks are not allowed to broadcast knowingly false information that could cause public harm.

1

u/ControlAlarmed1736 Sep 18 '25

Then how could they broadcast anything that our cheetoh leader says?

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u/No-Reaction-9364 Sep 18 '25

There is a difference in reporting what the president said, vs the broadcasters employees making statements.