Billionaire investor Mark Cuban tweeted Sunday evening that he will vote for any politician who agrees to push for a law that would force news outlets to be more nonpartisan.
Cuban tweeted that he would vote for any politician able to advance “a law that says no tv or streaming network can brand, market or name themselves a News Network unless the 6 more viewed hours of every night is >80% fact checked news and opinion is clearly labeled as opinion only.” The Dallas Mavericks co-owner added that a law like this would “reduce the partisanship in this country almost overnight.”
IMO, It would reduce the partisanship in this country almost overnight
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) November 4, 2019
He replied to people engaging with his tweet with reasons why his idea is practical and how the government would adequately be able to fact check news outlets. (RELATED: Mark Cuban Considering 2020 Presidential Run)
“We do it with other products. You can’t say a fiction book is non fiction. And only politicians get to lie in ads,” Cuban wrote to one person who suggested that the government shouldn’t get to decide “what the truth is.”
I have. And I know what it did. Do you ? We already have laws saying you can’t mislabel products. I’m not saying a network can’t air whatever they want. Just that they have to be honest about what they are airing.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) November 4, 2019
A former federal policy introduced in 1949 called the Fairness Doctrine, enforced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), aimed to accomplish what Cuban called for Sunday evening. It required those who had broadcast licenses to present controversial issues in an honest and balanced way. In doing so, the news outlets would be required to air opposing views on the issues.
The FCC revoked the rule in 1987 after Congress passed a resolution calling for the commission to study the issues surrounding the policy.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.