FCC on 'Fake News'

by Diane Farsetta

"Listeners and viewers are entitled to know who seeks to persuade them," wrote the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, in a Public Notice released in April.

The Public Notice was precipitated, in part, by the "large number of requests" asking the FCC to "consider whether the use of 'video news releases' or 'VNRs'... complies with the Commission's sponsorship identification rules." Those requests came from the more than 40,000 people who signed a petition circulated by the Center for Media and Democracy and the media reform group Free Press, as well as from two U.S. Senators.

The FCC's Public Notice specifically focuses on instances where "payment has been received or promised to a broadcast licensee or cable operator for the airing of program material." But its implications are much broader, for two reasons. One is that the FCC rules obviously extend beyond instances of news "pay for play." The other is that, by requesting comments and stating its intention to more fully study and act on the issue (including by taking "appropriate enforcement action"), the FCC has publicly recognized "fake news" as an issue critical to, in their words, "a well-functioning democracy."

Here are a few interesting passages from the FCC's Public Notice:

"All matter broadcast by any radio station for which any money, service, or other valuable consideration is directly or indirectly paid ... [shall] be announced as paid for or furnished." The Public Notice clarifies that this rule applies to television, but it also suggests that the less-recognized problem of audio news releases infiltrating radio news might be fair game.

The phrase "other valuable consideration" suggests that the rule may cover all material provided to news broadcasters by third parties, since these freebies save local broadcasters very valuable time and resources.

There is a "greater obligation of disclosure in connection with political material and program matter dealing with controversial issues," according to the Public Notice. Surely the biggest "fake news" topics are hot precisely because of their controversial nature.

The Public Notice adds that information about who is "paying for or furnishing the broadcast matter" on political or controversial issues must be maintained by local stations, "for public inspection at the location of its public file." This is a great opportunity for local activism. As the public becomes more aware of fake news, local TV affiliates will have to respond to increasing pressure by becoming more transparent.