Demand Progress

Block the Trump-backed Paramount media takeover!

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    Block the Trump-backed Paramount media takeover!

    Petition to Congress:
    We urge you to block Paramount's deal to buy Warner Brothers. The merger violates antitrust laws, would hurt consumers, artists, and press freedom, and poses serious ethical and national security concerns.

    Bari Weiss ruined 60 Minutes and CBS News. She turned journalism into MAGA propaganda. Weiss is doing it with the full backing of Paramount and its CEO David Ellison. And CNN could be next.1

    Paramount is close to taking over Warner Brothers in a dangerous, unprecedented $111 billion media consolidation. Warner Brothers owns CNN and Ellison has promised Trump "sweeping changes" at the news network if the merger goes through.2

    The Trump administration is cheering on this right-wing media takeover. Our lawmakers must prevent this impending disaster for artists, consumers, journalism, and democracy.

    Sign the petition: Block Paramount from extending its pro-Trump media empire — stop the CNN, Warner Brothers takeover now!

    Over 200 journalists, academics, and filmmakers signed a letter warning that the Paramount merger would lead to "improper political meddling" just like at CBS.3 This came even before reports that Ellison could hire Bari Weiss to lead CNN.4

    Weiss influenced high-profile stories on Trump's horrific, illegal deportations and ICE agents murdering Renee Good. After CBS fired respected 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley, Pelley said that under Weiss, "there was a thumb on the scale for the president's version of events that I felt was a level of political influence that I had never seen in 37 years at CBS News."5

    Trump, Ellison, and Weiss are mounting a full MAGA media takeover, which will fuel the White House’s far-right propaganda machine. Congress must step in as the Trump administration tries to push this deal through.

    Sign the petition: Reject the Paramount-Warner Brothers mega-merger!


    Sources:

    1. NPR, "Firings at CBS' '60 Minutes' reflect the fight for media control in the age of Trump," June 3, 2026.
    2. The Wall Street Journal, "Behind Paramount's Relentless Campaign to Woo Warner Discovery and President Trump," December 8, 2025.
    3. HuffPost, "Hundreds Sign Letter Warning Paramount Takeover Of CNN Will Lead To 'Improper Political Meddling,'" May 27, 2026.
    4. The Hill, "Bari Weiss expected to extend takeover to CNN once Warner Bros-Paramount deal final," June 10, 2026.
    5. New York Times, "The Interview Scott Pelley on the Bari Weiss Era and His Last Days at '60 Minutes,'" June 7, 2026.
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