The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has reportedly launched an investigation into ABC’s “The View.”
“Fake News is not getting a free pass anymore,” an unnamed FCC source told Fox News on Friday.
The source added that the investigation was triggered after “The View” hosted Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, a Democrat, on the show this past Monday without also hosting a Republican.
BREAKING: The FCC has launched an investigation into ABC’s “The View” following Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s appearance on the show.
The probe is part of the FCC’s crackdown on equal time for political candidates, according to Fox News.
The outlet reports… pic.twitter.com/oWOdEDvL8S
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 7, 2026
News of the investigation comes a few weeks after FCC chair Brendan Carr issued regulatory guidance warning broadcasters that political candidates from each side of the political isle must get equal air time.
While the requirement for equal time for both sides has always existed, shows like “The View” have long benefitted from a “bona fide” exception allowing them to bypass this rule. But no longer.
“Importantly, the FCC has not been presented with any evidence that the interview portion of any late night or daytime television talk show program on air presently would qualify for the bona fide news exemption,” Carr wrote in his guidance.
“Moreover, a program that is motivated by partisan purposes, for example, would not be entitled to an exemption under long-standing FCC precedent,” he added.
For years, legacy TV networks assumed that their late night & daytime talk shows qualify as “bona fide news” programs – even when motivated by purely partisan political purposes.
Today, the FCC reminded them of their obligation to provide all candidates with equal opportunities pic.twitter.com/sWiQmqQHCq
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) January 21, 2026
News of the investigation likewise also comes about five months after Carr singled out “The View” while speaking on CNN contributor Scott Jennings’ podcast.
“I think it’s worthwhile to have the FCC look into whether ‘The View,’ and some of these other programs that you have, still qualify as bona fide news programs and therefore are exempt from the equal opportunity regime that Congress has put in place,” he said.
Democrats are not happy with the latest news.
Anna Gomez, the single Democrat on the FCC, said in a statement that the FCC’s new move “is government intimidation, not a legitimate investigation.”
“The real purpose is to weaponize the FCC’s regulatory authority to intimidate perceived critics of this Administration and chill protected speech,” she added. “That is not how a free society operates.”
“The First Amendment protects the right of daytime and late-time programs to cover newsworthy issues and express viewpoints without government interference. I urge broadcasters and their parent networks to stand strong against these unfounded attacks and continue exercising their constitutional rights without fear or favor,” she concluded.
Like many other so-called “investigations” before it, the FCC will announce an investigation but never carry one out, reach a conclusion, or take any meaningful action.
This is government intimidation, not a legitimate investigation. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/YWZU9tedF7
— Anna M. Gomez (@AGomezFCC) February 7, 2026
Daniel Suhr, the president of the legal advocacy group Center for American Rights, supports the move.
“This important new action puts Hollywood hosts and network bigwigs on notice — they can no longer prop up Democratic candidates with free airtime while shutting out Republicans,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
The Reporter notes that he’s “among the legal architects of Carr’s plan to fight media bias.”
“In a letter to the FCC last year, he wrote that ‘network late-night shows are relentlessly left-wing’ and that ‘Democrats’ appearances on late-night shows are a cornerstone of the D.C.-Hollywood axis,'” according to the outlet.
He later filed a complaint targeting leftist late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for only ever featuring Democrats, not Republicans.
The FCC’s latest move also appears to be supported by President Donald Trump:
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) January 22, 2026
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.