‘The View’ abortion ad signals broader efforts to use an FCC regulation to spread a message

An anti-abortion ad that aired during “ The view ” and criticizing the show’s personalities was the most visible manifestation of a campaign that takes advantage of a federal law that prohibits broadcasters from turning it down.

In the ad, a narrator says, “I’m so sick of stupid celebrities and lying journalists,” while the screen shows photos of the host of “The View.” Whoopi Goudbergher colleagues and other celebrities including Taylor Swift, Oprah WinfreyRobert DeNiro, Billie Eilish, Wolf Blitzer, Rachel Maddow and Dana Bash.

The ad compares the celebrities to Nazi leaders Joseph Goebbels and Leni Riefenstahl, criticizes Americans for their alleged support for abortion rights and contains explicit images of aborted fetuses.

In an on-screen disclaimer, ABC made it clear that it was keeping the message at arm’s length: “The following is a paid political advertisement, and the ABC television network is required by federal law to distribute it. The ad contains scenes that may be disturbing to children. Viewer discretion is advised.”

Advertisements are the work of a longtime anti-abortion activist

Longtime anti-abortion activist Randall Terry is behind the ads. Terry is a fringe candidate for president who has qualified for the ballot as standard bearer of the Constitution Partya status that allowed him to get airtime for his commercials.

Under Federal Communications Commission regulations, broadcast stations are “prohibited from censoring or rejecting political advertisements paid for and sponsored by legally qualified candidates,” a standard Terry has met.

“This is the last bastion of free speech,” Terry said in an interview. “The only place you can still have free speech is on a recognized channel as a federal candidate.”

The FCC rule only applies to candidates, not political organizations, meets the criteria and does not apply to cable networks or web-based properties such as podcasts. CNN, which is not required to run the ad and said it would not meet standards anyway, released a statement calling it “outrageous, anti-Semitic and dangerous.”

Terry already has another ad – on his website but not yet on television – specifically targeting CNN Jake Tapper.

“I’m not going to be president,” Terry said. “I’m not delusional. The whole point of this is to cause Kamala’s defeat.”

That’s why many of his ads are anti-Harris and, aside from a brief printed message on the screen, not even a mention of his candidacy. He has been running ads at the local level throughout the campaign, in each of the states where an abortion measure is on the ballot. A total of 40 local ads have been completed, along with a series of national ads, Terry said.

His target audience is people aged 50 to 80, an age group most likely to watch television broadcasts, likely Democratic voters, Catholics and blacks.

Christian F. Nunes, president of the National Organization for Women, said she is concerned that the ads represent a manipulation of FCC rules and promote hateful rhetoric.

“It’s definitely concerning,” Nunes said. “No one should use their candidacy as a license to spread hate speech.”

Terry is probably more attuned than any activist to using FCC rules to help spread his message, says Jack Goodman, a Washington attorney and former general counsel of the National Association of Broadcasters. He is not aware of any attempts to change the regulations over the years.

How far can the ads go?

The rules do not allow broadcasters to edit the ads for use of what could be considered disturbing images or language; For example, whether or not an ad can contain obscenity has not been tested in court, Goodman said. On his website, Terry’s as-of-yet unaired Tapper ad includes an obscenity, though he said he will likely use a cleaner version for television.

He doesn’t object to the warnings some stations have shown before his ads.

“They’re doing what they think is in the best interest of the channel,” Terry said. “That’s up to them. I can’t blame them for that. Look, these are difficult images to see.”

Nunes said she suspects the ads will backfire on Terry among many women, causing them to go to the polls to vote against what he advocates.

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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him up http://x.com/dbauder.