subject: Who Would You Trust to Determine When Political Speech is Fair and Accurate? [print this page] The protections afforded to broadcast political speech have broadened the latitude of discourse in ways that have variously offended liberals and conservatives. In 1972, the FCC protected the right of J. B. Stoner, a state office seeker in Georgia, to say in an ad that "[t]he main reason why niggers want integration is because niggers want our white women." Only a clear and present danger of imminent violence would justify tampering with political speech, reasoned the commission. The ruling was justified by the guarantee of free speech even for claims that are abhorrent.
Who Would You Trust to Determine When Political Speech is Fair and Accurate?
