I am surprised that it took this long, almost as surprised as I am by a president who shamelessly promotes untested “cures” like he’s a snake-oil salesman arisen from a past … his past profession. Trump’s daily commercials for his lotions, potions, and elixirs have now been called out by the Free Press, which has filed a complaint with the FCC.

Yet radio and television broadcasters across the country have been airing false and misleading information about the coronavirus crisis without providing the kinds of context or disclaimers suggested by the agency’s broadcast-hoax rule, write González and Laroia. “The president’s mischaracterization of the efficacy of chloroquine phosphate is an acute example,” they write. “Wide broadcast of other of the president’s false statements have also contributed to the cavalier attitude some have taken toward containing coronavirus and mitigating its spread.”

Tell someone around here they have a “cavalier attitude” and they’ll scream that they were never even accepted to the University of Virginia. But we do appreciate their point because it is exactly right. There is a care-free attitude that is coming straight from the top down, and I see it whenever I have to go out in this state.

It does have ramifications. That this complaint is directed at the president means it won’t be acted upon, but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong:

The Free Press petition catalogs a number of incidents in which both radio and television broadcasters have aired dangerous misinformation about the disease, including several false statements by widely syndicated talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh, and urges the FCC to use its full powers to ensure that the public receives accurate information about this deadly pandemic.

In particular, Free Press asks the agency to immediately issue an emergency policy statement or enforcement guidance recommending that broadcasters prominently disclose when information they air is false or scientifically suspect. “This is a life or death issue,” write González and Laroia, “and we request the Commission’s urgent attention.”

Good luck with that. No one’s been able to shut him up yet.

But stations most certainly can determine what to televise and what not to televise. We saw Fox jump out for a quick voice-over of a particularly insane Trump outburst the other day, live. The networks all have a six-second delay, they can “throw it back to New York” whenever Trump is going insane.

So while the FCC might not have much of a chance to block “over the airwave” coverage, we still very much have a chance to influence MSNBC, CNN and the other networks, which have no business covering his shit right now.

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Peace, y’all

Jason

[email protected] and on Twitter @MiciakZoom