Partially False: The FCC Is Investigating ABC — But Not Over DEI

The claim is half right and half invented. The FCC did open a real investigation into ABC News in November 2024 — but it was triggered by the September 2024 presidential debate, not by ABC's diversity hiring or programming practices. Tacking DEI onto the story misrepresents what the government is actually doing.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the probe in November 2024, citing concerns about whether ABC's debate format gave equal time to both candidates. Reuters, the New York Times, and Politico all reported the same narrow focus: the debate broadcast, and nothing else. DEI does not appear anywhere in the FCC's official communications about this case.

NPR and Axios both noted the investigation stemmed largely from complaints by Trump allies who felt the debate format was unfair. That political backdrop matters, because it shows how a real but contested regulatory action can get inflated and reshaped as it travels through partisan media.

It's also worth knowing that the equal-time rule has significant limits. As Politico reported, legal experts pointed out that news programs have historically been exempt from equal-time requirements, making the legal basis for the investigation shaky from the start. The probe may be real, but its outcome is far from certain.

This kind of claim spreads because it bundles a verifiable fact — the FCC investigation — with a separate grievance — DEI — to make the whole package feel more credible. When you see a story that combines two charged political topics into one headline, that's a signal to check whether both parts are actually connected or just traveling together.