Help go after Trump: Tell the FCC to Stop the Spread of Misinformation About Coronavirus

[BeckyDem]

to appalachiablue for pointing this petition out in another thread.



Misinformation about COVID-19 is deadly — especially when it’s coming from the president of the United States.

President Trump has spent weeks downplaying the virus and spouting lies in his press conferences, standing in the way of a unified national response to the pandemic and contributing to the rapidly spreading disease.

And last week during one of his nightly press conferences that aired on broadcast-television stations across the country, President Trump talked about the alleged benefits of a drug called chloroquine in treating coronavirus. But the FDA has not approved chloroquine for this illness and studies of its safety and effectiveness are just beginning. After hearing this press conference, a couple in their 60s ingested the drug because they believed it could prevent them from becoming sick. Now, one of them has passed away and the other is in critical condition.

Many conservative outlets are echoing the Trump administration’s tone about the pandemic by downplaying the virus, spreading conspiracy theories or spouting racist comments targeting Asian people.

The Federal Communications Commission has rules on the books to deal with this kind of misuse and abuse of the public airwaves and it needs to enforce them.

Sign the petition: Tell the FCC to stop the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 on the public airwaves NOW.

https://act.freepress.net/sign/journ_misinfo_trump/?source=FPblog

[BeckyDem]

1. kick

[BeckyDem]

2. kick

[onenote]

3. If doing something meaningless makes you feel better go for it

The FCC cannot and will not tell broadcast stations not to cover presidential press briefings.

[BeckyDem]

4. That is not what the petition requests.

It is unlawful for broadcasters to air misinformation that threatens public health and safety. But right now Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh are using their radio shows on the public airwaves to spread false information about the COVID-19 crisis. And television broadcasters are airing President Trump’s dangerous misinformation without providing a disclaimer. This has arguably cost people their lives.

The FCC must remind broadcasters of their duty to prevent the spread of misinformation and it must investigate outlets that spread false information without issuing disclaimers. In the case of the president, the FCC should urge broadcasters to provide disclaimers when he utters false — and potentially dangerous — information about coronavirus.

The FCC has a responsibility to stop the spread of misinformation about coronavirus on the public airwaves. Please act before even more lives are lost.

[onenote]

5. I've been a FCC lawyer, inside and outside the government, for forty years.

I guarantee you that this is a waste of time.

[BeckyDem]

6. Just understand they're not asking for what you had thought.

If they want to put the FCC on notice for dereliction of duty, that is to their credit.

[onenote]

7. Okay, they want the FCC to order stations to publish disclaimers

But they use the attention grabbing (and apparently misleading) headline: "Tell the FCC to stop the spread of misinformation about COVID-19 on the public airwaves NOW.

How does publishing a disclaimer "stop" the spread of misinformation? And how can a station put a disclaimer on content before they know what the content is?

[BeckyDem]

9. It wasn't misleading, one only needs to read it.

His past history is a reason, this is a pandemic and he is misinforming them. With a disclaimer applied people can turn him off and or fact check him.

[Progressive Law]

8. FCC Chairman is Ajit Pai, a rabid Trump Devotee. Good luck.

[onenote]

10. As predicted, this was a total waste of time.

https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-385A1.pdf

[BeckyDem]

11. Its shocking they wouldn't investigate under Pai, Trump's buddy.

Good to know the FCC rejected an investigation of a president who literally used the word hoax with respect to a pandemic and they don't want to quantify his actions under their own standards. Amazing. Why would his speech necessitate a disclaimer to save lives? I can't imagine.


“This is their new hoax,” Trump continued, adding that attacking the White House’s response to the coronavirus had become the Democratic Party’s “single talking point.” Trump — who has been criticized for painting an overly rosy picture of the outbreak, often contradicting his own health officials — insisted on Friday that his administration was “magnificently organized” and “totally prepared" to address the virus. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-calls-coronavirus-democrats-new-hoax-n1145721


Free Press Responds to Trump FCC's Politically Motivated Attack
April 6, 2020
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838

WASHINGTON — On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission denied Free Press’ emergency petition that urged the agency to help prevent the spread of false COVID-19 information via broadcast outlets.

In its order, the agency mischaracterized the Free Press petition as a “brazen attempt to pressure broadcasters to squelch their coverage of a President that Free Press dislikes and silence other commentators with whom Free Press disagrees.”

In actuality, the petition urges the FCC to consider its authority under its broadcast-hoax rule to ensure the public airwaves are utilized in the public interest. Specifically, Free Press is concerned about several instances in which broadcasters knowingly aired false information concerning a catastrophe that causes, according to the FCC’s own rules, “substantial public harm.”

The Free Press petition urges the FCC to “conduct an urgent examination into the extent to which broadcasters have aired hoaxes and false or misleading information about COVID-19, and immediately issue an emergency policy statement or enforcement guidance recommending that broadcasters prominently disclose when information they air is false or scientifically suspect.”

The Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department and FDA have already issued similar guidance on the spread of disinformation about the national health emergency. As the FCC noted in its response to the Free Press petition, the Commission has also used its authority to issue guidance warning about phone- and text-based scams regarding COVID-19.

Free Press Co-CEO Jessica J. González made the following statement:

“We’re still reviewing the FCC’s hastily issued denial, but the unusual speed with which it was issued is remarkable — as is this agency’s willingness to make such personal remarks about our organization. Chairman Pai and Commissioner Carr have both refused to respond honestly in congressional oversight hearings and elsewhere when asked direct questions about President Trump's constant attacks on the press. But here they were in quite a hurry indeed.

“Today’s decision shows that when the Republican ideologues sitting in the majority at the FCC are asked to provide guidance and protect people against medical misinformation aired on broadcast outlets, they don’t take that request seriously. But when the agency feels like it can score points with the Trump administration and its right-wing base, it answers very quickly, but without giving any serious thought to the FCC’s public-interest mandate or to the life-and-death consequences of the issue at hand.

“Chairman Pai and Commissioner Carr are only on guard for what they consider as attacks on the press from people outside their political bubble, when we’re asking the FCC to use its own rules and processes to raise concerns about the airing of disinformation during a national crisis. They are far less concerned about defending the First Amendment when those threats come from President Trump, who constantly threatens news organizations and declares war on individual journalists.

“Coverage of Trump’s dangerously uninformed medical advice was just one example we provided of the airwaves being used to sow disinformation about COVID-19. There are many broadcast personalities with massive audiences who are using the same harmful talking points. We believe it’s right to ask that the FCC clarify its rules in the context of this national emergency, as other agencies have done for other coronavirus frauds.

“The order issued today notes that the FCC has already ‘established a website to educate consumers about COVID-19 phone and text-based scams.’ Of course the agency doesn’t characterize that action as infringement of scammers’ speech rights. The Trump FCC’s vapid and ideologically motivated attacks in today’s order are not a defense of First Amendment rights; they’re simply another example of this FCC launching politically motivated attacks on our organization while ignoring the agency’s mission. It moved so quickly because it sees this as an opportunity to rally the Trump base at a time when its attention should instead be focused on saving lives.

“We can disagree about FCC rules and processes but at the end of the day, when we lie our heads down on our pillows and meet our consciences, we must meet the essential questions, which stand regardless of whether the Trump FCC wants to examine them: What will broadcasters do in this moment to make sure that their viewers have accurate information to help them stay safe and healthy? Will they aggressively promote the truth and weed out misinformation about a deadly virus, or will they wrap themselves in a tattered American flag and pretend that they don’t have a role in the deaths that are the byproducts of spreading dangerous lies?

https://www.freepress.net/news/press-releases/free-press-responds-trump-fccs-politically-motivated-attack