NORFOLK, Va. — 13News Now has recently received several questions about political ads airing on our channel.
This week, we’ve gotten numerous calls and questions about an advertisement from Constitution Party presidential candidate Randall Terry, which depicts graphic images of aborted fetuses in his campaign commercial.
TV stations may not reject political ads from legally verified candidates, according to federal law. If a candidate’s direct campaign pays for an ad spot, broadcast companies must air it.
“Sadly, most of the responsibility, if not all of the responsibility, in determining how accurate ad content is, falls on the consumer,” said Dr. Leslie Caughell, Virginia Wesleyan University’s Chair of Political Science.
Caughell raised concerns about what would happen if TV stations were responsible for discerning which political ads could air.
“I’m really uncomfortable with television stations or platforms like Facebook or the federal government being the person that adjudicates what information citizens see,” she said.
Stations do have discretion when it comes to third-party groups, like political action committees (PACs). These organizations are equal to private businesses when it comes to purchasing ad time, so broadcast companies can choose to reject commercials from them.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also requires television stations to sell political ad time at the lowest rate that the “station charges its most favored commercial advertisers for the same classes and amounts of time for the same periods.” In short, stations cannot upcharge candidates. That rule does not apply to third-party groups.
As for the Randall Terry advertisement, the commercial must air because Terry is a legally qualified candidate and his official campaign purchased the spot. It was purchased nationally, so it airs during ABC national programming. Either way, 13News Now is legally required to air it.
The FCC says it generally does not “review or pre-approve the content of political ads before they are broadcast, ensure the accuracy of statements that are made by candidates and issue advertisers, require broadcast stations and other regulatees to provide all sides of controversial issues” or “oversee the nature and extent of the coverage that individual candidates receive under the news exemption.”
The Federal Election Commission requires disclaimers, such as "I approve this message" in candidate ads.