Media News Daily: Top Stories for 10/22/2026

White House Demands Politico Retract Stories or Face Consequences

The White House has demanded that Politico retract or correct three recent stories concerning Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and apologize to President Donald Trump and Wiles. White House Counsel Will Scharf reportedly gave the outlet 48 hours to respond and warned that failure to do so could prompt a review of Politico’s relationship with the White House and possible legal action. The dispute comes amid an ongoing legal battle over White House access for Politico, CNN, and MS NOW; a federal judge recently ordered that their access to White House grounds continue while the litigation proceeds. (Read More) (Mediaite Rating)

Study Says X Community Notes Miss Most Election Falsehoods

A NewsGuard study says X’s crowdsourced Community Notes system failed to flag 93.1% of the false U.S. midterm election claims researchers examined. NewsGuard has separately tracked dozens of false election narratives spreading across hundreds of websites and social media accounts, with X accounting for more than half of the confirmed instances in its broader election misinformation tracker. The findings add to debate over whether crowdsourced correction systems can adequately replace professional fact-checking, particularly on politically divisive subjects where users may struggle to reach consensus. (Read More) (CTV Rating)

FCC Chair Warns Networks Over “Fake Polls”

FCC Chair Brendan Carr says broadcast networks could risk violating federal regulatory obligations if they knowingly air fabricated polls or polling intended to manipulate voter turnout. Carr cited the agency’s rules against deliberate news distortion but did not identify specific network polls he believed violated those standards. Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez has argued that an inaccurate poll by itself would not satisfy the agency’s traditional standard for news distortion, which requires deliberate misrepresentation of a significant factual event. The warning comes amid heightened scrutiny of polling practices before the November midterms. (Read More) (Reuters Rating)