Legal Info

Group Legal documents

Sputnik Radio – We’re Not In Kansas City Anymore!

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Article in FAIR by Ari Paul, 10/22/24

Headline:  “US Sanctions Shoot Down Sputnik Radio”

“Russian state radio network Radio Sputnik is off the air in the two markets on which it aired in the United States, and the cause of the closure is reportedly US government sanctions.

“The Desk (10/15/24), quoting “one source familiar with the decision to wind down the network,” said “it was directly influenced by the US State Department’s imposition of new sanctions on Russia-backed broadcast outlets last month.”

“While Sputnik was not specifically named by the State Department,” the Desk reported, the sanctions did hit Sputnik‘s parent company, a Russian government media agency called Rossiya Segodnya. This “made it difficult to continue leasing time on Washington and Kansas City radio stations where its programming was heard.”

“. . . US government broadcaster Voice of America (10/16/24) said Sputnik‘s departure comes “after years of criticism that its local [Washington] radio station, WZHF, carries antisemitic content and false information about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

https://fair.org/home/us-sanctions-shoot-down-sputnik-radio/

How to get Votes or Favorable Media – Pay for Them!

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Article in The Hill by Dominick Mastrangelo, 10/23/24

Headline: “Nicole Shanahan offered $500K to Washington Post reporter to share sources, be a ‘whistleblower’ “

“Nicole Shanahan, former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, offered half a million dollars to a Washington Post journalist to be a “whistleblower” against her political enemies.

“The Post, in a wide-ranging profile of Shanahan published Wednesday, revealed the offer was made this summer, when the outlet was reporting on her during the time Kennedy’s campaign was still active.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4948979-nicole-shanahan-offered-money-washington-post-whistleblower/

Censoring Media is OK by Some Politicians

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Article in Raw Story by Erik De La Garza 10/18/24

. . . so – Reagan threw out the Fairness Doctrine but actually still exists for TV ads?

Headline:  “Trump’s latest ask of Fox News is ‘arguably against the law’: media analyst”

“Donald Trump’s idea of demanding Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch stop the network from airing ‘negative commercials’ about him for the remainder of the election could be against the law, a CNN media analyst said Friday, adding that the former president’s comments show he is clearly bothered by the attack ads.

“Here’s the interesting thing: Trump asking Fox to ban anti-Trump ads is arguably against the law,” CNN media analyst Brian Stelter told anchor Wolf Blitzer on Friday night. “Fox operates local TV stations across the country that are subject to FCC oversight. The FCC has rules in place that require stations to be fair about airing political ads.”

https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-2669441295/

It’s the Media, Stupid!

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Update

Article in the Guardian by Carter Sherman, 10/18/24

Headline: “Judge slaps down Florida effort to ban abortion ad: ‘It’s the first amendment, stupid’”

Subhead: “State health department sent letter to stations demanding they not air TV ad backing abortion access ballot measure”

“Florida’s health department can’t block a TV advertisement in support of a ballot measure that would protect abortion rights, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, after the department sent letters to local TV stations commanding them to stop airing the ad or risk criminal consequences.

“The government cannot excuse its indirect censorship of political speech simply by declaring the disfavored speech is ‘false’,” US district judge Mark E Walker wrote in his ruling. “To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/18/florida-abortion-ad

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Article in The Guardian by Carter Sherman, 10/9/24

Headline: “Florida threatens news stations over ad in favor of abortion rights measure”

Subhead:  “FCC chair condemns state health department for sending cease-and-desists over spot supporting abortion rights”

“The Florida health department has fired off cease-and-desist letters to local news stations over an advertisement urging people to vote in favor of a ballot measure that would expand abortion rights in the state.

” . . . On Tuesday, Jessica Rosenworcel, the Federal Communications Commission chair, condemned the cease-and-desist letters.

“ ‘The right of broadcasters to speak freely is rooted in the first amendment,’ Rosenworcel said in a statement. “Threats against broadcast stations for airing content that conflicts with the government’s views are dangerous and undermine the fundamental principle of free speech.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/09/florida-news-abortion-ballot-coverage

 

 

Media Hate Speech Stopped in Brazil

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Article by Allen Cone on UPI, 9/21/24

Headline: “Elon Musk to comply with Brazilian court’s orders to restore X in nation”

“Billionaire Elon Musk has decided to comply with court orders in Brazil in an effort to end the ban on his his social platform X in the Latin American nation.

. . . “The company formerly known as Twitter also informed the court that it blocked accounts allegedly responsible for disseminating hate speech and fake news, two sources told Bloomberg.”

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2024/09/21/Brazil-X-Musk-comply-orders/5741726963376/

Article update from the Electronic Freedom Foundation  by  Corynned McSherry, 10/8/24

Headline:  “The X Corp. Shoutdown in Brazil:  What We Can Learn”

“Update (10/8/2024): Brazil lifted a ban on the X Corp. social media platform today after the country’s Supreme Court said the company had complied with all of its orders. Regulators have 24 hours to reinstate the platform, though it could take longer for it to come back online.”

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/10/x-corp-shutdown-brazil-what-we-can-learn

Media Giants Care More for Kids Than Money, Right?

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Article by April Rubin in Axios, 10/5/24

Headline: “States target social media companies over kids’ health, safety as Congress hesitates”

“Attorneys general of three states in less than a week revealed separate lawsuits against social media giants for their platforms’ alleged harmful effects on children, including sextortion, addiction and privacy violations.”

“. . . State attorneys general, most recently, sued TikTok, Snap and YouTube, alleging culpability in risks to children’s safety or wellbeing.”

https://www.axios.com/2024/10/05/state-lawsuits-social-media-children-harm-addiction

Native Americans Sue Social Media Companies

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Article in The South Dakota Searchlight by John Hult 10/3/24

Headline:  “Standing Rock Tribe is latest to sue social media companies for alleged mental health effects”

“The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North and South Dakota has filed a lawsuit in California against the parent companies of Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok.

“The lawsuit, which alleges the tech companies’ social media apps are addictive and contribute to a mental health crisis on tribal lands, is the latest in a series filed by Native American tribes through the Minneapolis-based Robins Kaplan law firm.”

https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2024/10/03/standing-rock-tribe-is-latest-to-sue-social-media-companies-for-alleged-mental-health-effects/?emci=cd049c64-ba81-ef11-8474-6045bda8aae9&emdi=109f6ace-3f82-ef11-8474-6045bda8aae9&ceid=73177

 

 

Media Sued for False Information – What Happens?

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Article by Sam Levine in The Guardian, 9/30/24

Headline: “What price are US media outlets paying for spreading election lies?”

Subhead: “A wave of lawsuits ending in settlements show defamation law is not going to save us from election misinformation”

“As voting got under way for the 2024 US presidential election, the voting technology company Smartmatic and the conservative outlet Newsmax reached an agreement about election lies in the last one.”

. . . “Some of the settlements have come with on-air apologies and retractions. Others, including the agreement between Fox and Dominion, have not. In some cases, the terms of the agreements have not been disclosed at all, leaving the public in the dark about what price, if any, outlets are paying for spreading election lies.”

. . . “Lidsky cautioned against expecting too much from trials. ”

“ ‘The public hasn’t, as a whole, bought into the definitive declaration of truth,’ she said. ‘There are, through motivated reasoning, people who are going to continue to believe what they want to believe.’ ”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/30/election-lies-misinformation-media

 

Media Voter-Machine Fraud Claims, What Happened?

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Article on NPR by Maddy Lauria & David Folkenflik, 9/26/24

Headline: “Voting-tech company settles with right-wing network over false election claims”

“Once more, a voting tech company has settled its defamation lawsuit over false allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election before the start of trial — in this instance, Smartmatic USA’s suit against the conservative network Newsmax.”

“. . . ‘Lying to the American people has consequences,’ the company’s statement said. ‘Smartmatic will not stop until the perpetrators are held accountable.’ ”

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/26/nx-s1-5130183/newsmax-smartmatic-settlement-defamation-election-lawsuit

Groups File to Protect FCC Ownership Rules

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Article in Freepress.net by Craig Aaron, 9/20/24

Headline: “Public-Interest Groups Defend FCC’s Broadcast-Ownership Rules Promoting Competition, Diversity and Localism on Air”

“On Friday, six public-interest, media-reform, media-justice and labor organizations joined to file an amicus curiae brief defending the Federal Communications Commission’s broadcast-ownership rules against an industry challenge in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

“The six groups are Common Cause, the Communications Workers of America-National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, Free Press, the Future of Music Coalition, the musicFIRST Coalition and the United Church of Christ Office of Communication, Inc. (“UCC Media Justice”). All of these entities have long participated in FCC proceedings and court cases on this issue. Attorneys Cheryl Leanza and Rachel Stillwell authored and filed the brief on the groups’ behalf.

“The FCC’s media-ownership rules are designed to promote competition, viewpoint diversity, ownership diversity and the delivery of local content by broadcast stations licensed to serve communities all across the United States.”

https://www.freepress.net/news/press-releases/public-interest-groups-defend-fccs-broadcast-ownership-rules

FCC  broadcast ownership rules:

https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/fccs-review-broadcast-ownership-rules

Article on the kkfistory website from community radio pioneers Lorenzo Milam and Jeremy Lansman who protested to the FCC against duopoly and bland, monolithic radio of 1974.

https://www.kkfistory.org/lorenzo-jeremys-petition-against-god/