This petition asks that the FCC revoke Fox News' license until 'News' is removed from its branding, or until it revises its practices to conform with standards of broadcast journalism. The undersigned understand why the FCC does not want to limit protected speech, but demand the FCC enforce its mandate to protect the public interest as concerns broadcasting.

The FCC states that "broadcast licensees may not intentionally distort the news," and that "rigging or slanting the news is a most heinous act against the public interest." So why is a cable TV channel allowed to lie, distort, and promote solely Republican causes under the banner of "news"?

Since John Kerry's unsuccessful 2004 presidential bid, Fox News has had a clear right-wing agenda, and it has become steadily more biased since Obama's 2008 election. In the Trump era, it has been documented repeatedly (by Politico, by the Washington Post, by Newsweek) how the president repeats talking points from Fox, which in turn broadcasts pro-Trump messaging. Fox News employees join the Trump White House and vice versa; the line between the two is gone. We are witnessing for the first time on American soil televised propaganda, in the style of  fascist and authoritarian regimes. If you haven't noticed this on your own already, it's fully explained by investigative journalist Jane Mayer here. 

According to the FCC website "there are two issues related to broadcast journalism that are subject to Commission regulation: hoaxes and news distortion." As measured by Politifact, Fox News is "Mixed factually and borderline Questionable based on poor sourcing and the spreading of conspiracy theories that later must be retracted after being widely shared." This constant stream of misinformation has had a direct impact on the the last several elections, essentially defrauding the nation. In April 2020 their science-denial and misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic is literally killing people. We say, enough, this is madness. Fox News is incompatible with democracy and public health.

Right now this country is suffering an epidemic of ignorance. Trump is only a symptom; Fox News is a leading cause, a political operation masquerading as a journalism outlet. Enforcing our broadcasting rules is part of the cure.

To be delivered to: FCC Enforcement Chief Rosemary Harold, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the Office of NY State District 27, where Fox News has its main office and facilities.