The TV Says Momma's Got Restless Leg Syndrome!
The Center for Media and Democracy reports that fake video news reports (VNRs) are still being circulated by news stations without telling the public they were produced as propaganda by a corporation.
Some of these are "harmless" in that they're just subvertly pitching product via a special on holiday treats (buy GENERAL MILLS products!) Most are far more dangerous, such as Exxon lobbyist produced news segments that attempt to laugh off global warming, or Phizer produced pieces that try to tell granny that her kid has the latest bullshit disease mongering du jour: "restless leg syndrome".
As a little test, do a Google search for restless leg syndrome. Note how many bogus "organizations" and "foundations" (most pharma created) you have to wade through before you find anyone who will tell you this: Restless leg syndrome was a very minor and easily solved condition until pharma execs got a hold of it, with the aim being, through fear, the broadened application of existing drugs via off-label use in order to increase revenues.
1 in 12 people have it. Most the time it's fixed by exercise and improved diet. But craft a few fake TV news spots, and you've got the public thinking they need high-grade pharmaceuticals.
The Center for Media and Democracy's follow-up research indicates that viewers are still routinely deceived by fake TV news. From April through October 2006, CMD documented 46 stations in 22 states airing at least one of 33 different video news releases. (See "Methodology.") The total number of VNRs tracked for this study—109—represents just two percent of the estimated 5,000 VNRs offered to U.S. television newsrooms over a six-month period.Eighty-nine percent of the VNR broadcasts documented—48 of the 54 examples in this report—included no disclosure whatsoever of the nature or source of the sponsored video. The six remaining VNR broadcasts exhibited different approaches to disclosure. However, none approached the level recommended by CMD: continuous on-screen notification of the client that funded the VNR.
How many decades of this crap before lawmakers crack down on astroturf and other corporate propaganda?