One Stimulus Response: Fake News [1]
Submitted by Diane Farsetta [2] on
"You can't pretend like you are broadcasting news when it is a paid advertisement," said Senator Claire McCaskill [3], urging the U.S. Federal Trade Commission [4] (FTC) to take action against "ads that mimic newscasts, with actors or even news anchors from a TV station," reports Broadcasting & Cable. McCaskill -- who previously called for a full investigation [5] into the Pentagon's "America Supports You [6]" PR program -- is "particularly concerned about stimulus money ads masquerading as news." She was speaking at a Senate subcommittee hearing on advertising trends and consumer protection [7]. David Vladeck of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection told McCaskill, "Where we see an infomercial masquerading as real news, we will add a charge. But in our view, given our enforcement priorities, the principal actor has to be the FCC." In response to the Center for Media and Democracy's reports [8] on video news releases [9], the Federal Communications Commission [10] announced its first-ever fines [11] for undisclosed fake news [12]. McCaskill advised marketers to clean up their act, adding, "I will follow-up with the FCC."