Television stations have been getting away with airing fake news for far too long. But this week the Federal Communications Commission clamped down on the practice at two stations.

The FCC fined a pair of television stations for airing commercials masquerading as news segments. These video news releases (VNRs) are advertisements produced to be virtually indistinguishable from news stories and distributed to television news departments, and they violate the FCC’s longstanding “sponsorship identification” rules when they are aired without disclosing their origins.

The fines came in response to a 2006 complaint filed by Free Press and the Center for Media and Democracy, which exposed the rampant use of PR firm-generated VNRs disguised as news programming. The groups filed a follow-up report and complaints in 2007, further detailing the trend. Overall the groups cited the use of over 100 undisclosed VNRs.

KMSP-TV, a Fox-owned affiliate in Minneapolis, aired what appeared to be a news report on increased consumer demand for convertible cars in the summer. The video, which was sponsored by General Motors, presented multiple shots and favorable descriptions of GM products.

View the FCC's Notice of Apparent Liability for KMSP.

WMGM-TV, a NBC affiliate in southern New Jersey, aired a segment on how to treat the common cold. The station claimed the piece was sponsored by a local hospital, but it was produced and paid for by Matrix Initiative, the maker of Zicam zinc cold remedy. The segment featured the use of zinc products as a way to treat colds and exclusively focused on Zicam’s product.

View the FCC's Notice of Apparent Liability for WMGM.

This is a positive step toward cracking down on fake news, and the FCC should continue to fine stations who violate sponsorship identification rules. Viewers deserve to know when they are watching paid propaganda instead of real news.