by John Stauber


The
Center for Media and Democracy and Free Press have filed a complaint
with the Federal Communications Commission urging an investigation of
the extensive airing of “fake news” by TV broadcasters who take
government and corporate Video News Release (VNR) stories and run them
unlabeled as real journalism. In just one week nearly 40,000 citizens
have signed the petition calling on the FCC, Congress and local
broadcasters to stop fake news.


The
petition seeks to strengthen and enforce laws against government
propaganda and demands “that the Bush administration stop using our tax
dollars to create fake news reports.” The Center and Free Press hope to
gather a quarter million signatures and begin organizing citizens
locally to meet with stations in their community to sign agreements to
stop airing all VNRs unless they are clearly labeled and not pawned off
as news.  

Revelations over the past year have finally moved this issue into
public consciousness. This is a corruption now deeply embedded in TV
media and corporate and government propaganda practices. Fake news has
been produced and aired covertly for decades, and is now a business
involving billions of dollars for broadcasters, PR firms and their
clients.

Click here to sign the petition.