Broadcast stations must air ads sponsored by federal candidates, but they can reject ads from outside groups, or if they chose to air them, they may insist that they are truthful.
The level of inaccuracy in third-party presidential ads has been high in the current campaign. An Annenberg Public Policy Center study shows that from the Iowa caucuses through the Wisconsin primary, almost 57 percent of the $41.1 million spent by the four highest-spending third-party groups was devoted to 19 ads containing misleading claims. These deceptions could shift votes.
Broadcast stations can charge more for third-party ads than those for federal candidates and they make big profits airing them. But by taking seriously their civic responsibilities and their right to insist on the accuracy of third-party ads and regularly debunking deceptive political ad content, broadcast stations can translate some of those profits into protection for the public they serve.
A new campaign sponsored by Annenberg Public Policy Center is asking stations to do just that. They are asking the public to go to the “Stand by Your Ad” pages at APPC’s www.flackcheck.org and emailing local station manager a message to protect their viewers from these deceptive ads. The process only takes a couple of minutes. — Michael Blum
Appeal Funding Partners, LLC, leader in appeal finance, provides immediate financial assistance, in the form of non- recourse (risk-free) cash advances to trial attorneys and plaintiffs, who have money judgments on appeal. These cash investments are made while the appeal is still pending, before the final appellate decision is reached.
Michael Blum is a trial attorney and CEO of Appeal Funding Partners, LLC. A pioneer in Litigation Funding, he has over 17 year experience providing risk mitigation services and non-recourse funding to attorneys and plaintiffs with money judgments on appeal. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Consumer Attorneys of California and of the Marin Trial Lawyers Association and regularly speaks to trial-lawyer groups and has written for TLA magazines on the financial management of a contingency-fee law firm. He may be contacted at 415-729-4214 or mgblum@appealfundingpartners.com.
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