鶹Ƶ Law Professor Enrique Armijo discusses First Amendment protections for journalists following a warning from the Federal Communications Commission about reporting election polls.
鶹Ƶ Law Professor Enrique Armijo was quoted in The Washington Post on Oct. 21 about whether federal regulators can penalize broadcasters for reporting election polls deemed misleading or fabricated.
In Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr warned broadcasters against airing or amplifying fake polls, citing agency rules against news distortion and broadcast hoaxes.
“As a federal judge just said … in rejecting President Trump’s claim against Iowa pollster Ann Selzer, there is no such thing as a ‘fake poll,’” Armijo told the newspaper. “And even if there was, the FCC’s long-dormant news distortion and anti-hoax rules would do nothing to empower the FCC to take action against broadcasters who report on them.”
Armijo also criticized Carr’s warning as an attempt to intimidate journalists over unfavorable news coverage.
Armijo teaches and researches First Amendment and constitutional law, media and internet law, online disinformation, and international freedom of expression. His scholarship examines the intersection of new technologies, free speech and government regulation. He recently joined a coalition of First Amendment scholars urging the FCC to preserve broadcasters’ editorial independence.