FCC's toothless bite: News Distortion Enforcement a Rare Bite
2025-04-07
A nearly quarter-century-old study reveals the FCC's incredibly rare punishment of news distortion. Since the Reagan-era deregulation of broadcast news in 1982, such penalties have plummeted. While the FCC lacks explicit rules against news distortion, a policy has emerged through case-by-case adjudications. Recent allegations, including the inaccurate 2000 election projections, rarely result in findings of news distortion. This highlights the FCC's surprisingly weak enforcement of news accuracy, revealing significant practical limitations.