Shannon Limbach
SL668021@Ohio.Edu
Cynic
Definition of a cynic: a person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest rather than acting for honorable or unselfish reasons.
Steps to becoming a cynic:
1. Read: PRINCIPLES and PRACTICES for ADVERTISING ETHICS
2. Hyper Focus on Principle 1: "Advertising, public relations, marketing communications, news, and editorial all share a common objective of truth and high ethical standards in serving the public - The Supreme Court has held that truthful commercial speech is protected under the First Amendment."
3. Travel down the rabbit hole of Supreme Court rulings regarding free speech in political ads.
4. Read: Why Can Candidates Lie? ....... Because the constitution says they can.
The Breakdown
The United States v. Alvarez.
In 2007, Xavier Alvarez, an elected official, falsely claimed he was a recipient of the Medal of Valor. His actions were unlawful under the Stolen Valor Act of 2005. The Supreme Court ruled by a 6-3 margin that the Stolen Valor Act was unconstitutional and a violation of the First Amendments Free Speech. They added that "a statement of falsities is not enough, by itself, to exclude speech from First Amendment protections."
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the plurality of opinion, "Permitting the government to decree this speech to be a criminal offense, whether shouted from the rooftops or made in a barely audible whisper, would endorse government authority to compile a list of subjects about which false statements are punishable. That governmental power has no clear limiting principle. Our constitutional tradition stands against the idea that we need Oceania’s Ministry of Truth," invoking George Orwell's novel 1984."
The Federal Trade Commission regulates truth in advertising regarding false and misleading commerce on TV, radio, print, and digital advertising.
The Federal Communications Commission regulates the ad buys for political advertising over radio and television. These regulations include equal airtime for all candidates and stations are not allowed to refuse advertisements based on its contents. Because political campaigns are not considered a commercial endeavor, there are no federal regulations for truth in political advertising.
A caveat: This applies only to your local radio and TV stations and their networks. Cable TV does not fall under these regulations. Neither does the internet and social media platforms.
Some good news for Twitter users. Concerns for false and misleading advertising prompted Twitter to ban political ads.
However, social media giant, Facebook, has resisted any regulations or restrictions when it comes to false political advertising. Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook will continue to post misleading and false political ads. Zuckerberg stated that banning political ads is a form of censorship. " Principle 1."
Stop the Steel
In the fall of 2020, shortly before the general election, an area in Southern California called Little Saigon, voters received false political ads paid for by the Michelle Steel for Congress campaign. Similar false ads were being aired over the local radio. These political ads stated that a sitting United States Congress Member, Harley Rouda, was aligned with of Ho Chi Minh and a communist sympathizer. "The flyer asserts that "Rouda" is a comrade and supports Ho Chi Minh's socialist ideas."
Source: Viet Fact Check
Red-Baiting is a typical false advertising tactic in Asian American minority strongholds. The flyers were called out for the blatant lies and a defamation case may have been considered but the damage to the Harley Rouda Campaign was already done. The lies flipped the Little Saigon voting District from a Democratic strong hold to a Republican win. 8000 votes separated the victor from the loser.
Should Political advertisements be held to the same standards as commercial advertisements? Free Speech Survey
Lies, Lies, Lies, Yeah
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