By Dan Haggerty, WRAL anchor/reporter Political ads are allowed to mislead you and are often designed to do so. There are two types of political ads: Candidate ads Issue ads, which are also known as political action committee (PAC) ads When it comes to candidate ads – the rule is simple – we can’t say no. They can say anything they want and we must air it – anything. They could literally make a commercial that says their opponent is a werewolf who kills cattle at night, and we would have to run it. The Federal Communications Commission has a rule that says broadcasters can't censor that content. Also, if a TV station sells airtime to one side, the station must also offer equal time to the other side. However, PAC ads are different. A TV station doesn’t have to air them, and we have lawyers look at them for potential legal issues. ___________________________________________________________________________________ I have always suspected that a lot of political ads were lies. This just confirms it. Former NC Governor Pat McCrory is running for senate this year. When he was governor, the liberals passed a bill that allowed transgenders to use girl’s restrooms. He vetoed it. That likely cost him reelection because of all the liberals in Charlotte. Roy Cooper won by a narrow margin. Now his senatorial opponent (Or someone supporting him) is running and ad that says, “Pat McCrory… too liberal for North Carolina.” That’s a flat out lie. I hope McCrory comes out with an ad calling it just that.
Very few govern and do their jobs anymore...it's all about power. We have no arbiters of truth. The problem with addressing any smear is that you let the other guy drive the conversation. If the other person keeps you in React & Defend mode, then you do not get to execute your campaign. Sadly, this kind of crap is done because this kind of crap works.
He says that a person can file a civil suit but it's difficult and time consuming. By the time you get to court, the election will be over.
I think defamation is a tough thing to pursue if you're in eh public eye, if I understand correctly. I really detest scummy people, especially when they gain by it.
This brings to mind where Jerry Falwell sued Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt for defamation, etc. It went to the US Supreme court, Falwell lost. Flynt claimed, as a parody, that Falwell had a sexual rendezvous with his mother in an outhouse.
Many -if not most people here in England already know that what is promised in election campaigns is not necessarily what we will get. I can only 'assume' that our media have the same 'restrictions' too.
I've often wondered if "regular" people like us can be put in the public eye by the hand of the media (perhaps we take a stand on an issue and it gets coverage), and then we can be slandered due to the notoriety that we have but did not seek.
Nick Sandmann debacle with the drum beating American Indian for one. The MAGA hat wearing teen wasn’t looking for any kind of notoriety that I can see and still wound up being highlighted in all forms of media.
Everyone lies. Politicians do it professionally. Yes, I’m a cynic. “CYNIC, n. A blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be. Hence the custom among the Scythians of plucking out a cynic's eyes to improve his vision.” —Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary
To paraphrase A Christmas Story: Politicians work in lies the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It is their true medium.