KRAW-LP Hoaxes Defined

* * * Hoaxes * * *

The broadcast by a station of false information concerning a crime or catastrophe violates the FCC's rules if:

	1.	The station licensee knew that the information was false;
	2.	Broadcasting the false information directly causes substantial public harm; and
	3.	It was foreseeable that broadcasting the false information would cause such harm.

In this context,

	a “crime” is an act or omission that makes the offender subject to criminal punishment by law, and
	a “catastrophe” is a disaster or an imminent disaster involving violent or sudden events affecting the public.
	The broadcast must cause direct and actual damage to property or
	to the health or safety of the general public, or
	diversion of law enforcement or other public health and safety authorities from their duties, and
	the public harm must begin immediately.

If a station airs a disclaimer before the broadcast that clearly characterizes the program as fiction and the disclaimer is presented in a reasonable manner under the circumstances, the program is presumed not to pose foreseeable public harm.

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A Reminder . . . KRAW-LP is OUR Community Radio Station.
Broadcast content and programming policy are at YOUR initiative.