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Originally Posted by Goldstone69
As for fair and balanced are there no laws about inaccurate advertising in the US ?
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The Federal Trade Commission is our agency that prosecutes companies for false advertising. They only oversee the advertising of products and services though, not anything as subjective as a slogan for a "news" channel. (and come to think of it, I've never actually heard of them prosecuting a case).
The first amendment, the right to free speech, is very important here in the US, and rightfully so, but I do wish that TV/radio broadcasting companies would at least get a stiff fine when one of their pundits (such as Bill O'Really) blatantly lies about something. Maybe each blatant lie could be worth 100 points, and when a broadcaster reaches, say, a million points, then the station (or network) would lose their license. (here in the US the airwaves are licensed from the government, theoretically we the people own them, although the licenses go to the highest bidder...the fees go to the FCC and we the people never even know about it).
As things stand now, a broadcaster can lie his ass off every day and not suffer any consequences at all. That doesn't seem right to me. (this is especially prevalent in talk radio...Bill O'Really has a radio show too y'know).
Sure, everyone has the right to express your opinion, but often these talk show hosts spout blatant lies while insisting that they're facts (and sadly a lot of people think that these talk show hosts are experts on what the subjects they're discussing...when in actuality they often have no clue what they're talking about.) That's one reason that the US is so screwed up, so many people are completely misinformed on so much important stuff.