Trump ads paid for by US government allegedly violate anti-propaganda laws
FCC unlikely to stop Trump ads described as illegal taxpayer-funded propaganda.
FCC unlikely to stop Trump ads described as illegal taxpayer-funded propaganda.
The short version
- Broadcasters should be ordered to stop running Trump commercials that appear to violate US laws, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen said today in a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission.
- The ads appear to violate laws against using taxpayer funds for propaganda and a law that restricts political activity by federal government employees, the group said.
- It’s highly unlikely that the FCC or FTC would order broadcasters to stop running the Trump ads.
What happened
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s history of attacking broadcasters that Trump dislikes suggests he is more likely to threaten the licenses of broadcasters that refuse to run the ads. Both Carr and FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson also backed Trump’s expansion of power over nominally independent agencies like the FTC and FCC.
Why it matters
Senate Democrats said in a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin today that Trump is “illegally using Americans’ tax dollars to fund government propaganda and to put ads from his 2024 campaign back on the air.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.